On Sun, 10 Mar 2024, 13:40 Thomas Cameron, thomas.cameron@camerontech.com wrote:
I hate using fora. I generally have to open a separate tab for each forum I'm on, and I'm on a LOT. And I have to go out of my way to even remember all the fora I am a member of. For those of us who are members of a bunch, it's kind of a beating - especially if you're an ADHD person, like me.
Yes, yes, yes, to everything you said. *insert obligatory Jack Nicholson nodding "yes" GIF In slow motion*
Back in 2012 Sun Micro decided that web forums were the future and that the mailing list for Virtualbox users would be shut down, leaving only the developers mailing list. Their rationally or selling point was pure BS like "today users don't like email and prefer Web based forums".
We staged a mini revolt on the mailing list until a concesus was reached and Sun agreed to link from the official page to a community run mailing list, which we created at sourceforge and which I admin to this day.
Sadly the volumen of messages has decreased over time but we still get a few messages a week. And when a newbie appears with a question, the "old gang" is there to reply - including a few ORCL devs-.
Sadly they seldom stay or post again after their support question is answered. Maybe they unsubscribe after their problem is fixed. I haven't checked.
Mailing lists were and are "communities", like a Citizens Band shared channel or HAM radio.
Forums are more public support ticket systems. People come demanding solutions to their problems and then leave. There isn't - for most people a commitment to stay and participate in discussions to begin with. And the nature of the posting and reading method encourages that. Email lands in your inbox whether you like it or not.
More nodding in agreement follows below.
I also love that I see interesting problems on mailing lists that I'd never thought of or dealt with, and it's right there, in the list's mail folder. I learn a LOT perusing those messages.
Yes. Same.
It's there, I can easily
read through the threads when I get a minute. And I don't have to remember to fire up a new browser tab to parse them
Exactly.
*waves fist at cloud*
Cheers, FC