Markus Mottl wrote (on 13-09-01 15:19 +0200):
> On Thu, 13 Sep 2001, Frank Atanassow wrote:
> > There have been a lot of beginner questions on this list of late and,
> > though there are still peaks and troughs, the traffic has increased
> > noticeably. I have no problems with beginners asking questions, and
> > indeed I have answered at least one such post myself at length, but I
> > think perhaps the rest of us might be better served if a separate list
> > were established for them, say `caml-newbie' or `caml-cafe'. `caml-list'
> > would remain the default list for announcements and general discussion.
> > 
> > Does anyone favor such a proposal?
> 
> A very difficult question indeed: if we do this, the advanced users may
> find more time for productive development work, but who would answer
> the newbies' questions then? OTOH, it might be very effective to let
> the newbies teach themselves in a kind of "caml-cradle". Knowledge
> (and lack thereof) is usually distributed so newbies are not unlikely
> to solve most basic issues in cooperation.

I might subscribe to the newbies list and answer questions myself. The reason
I want a separate newbie list is that I can unsubscribe from it when I get
busy without missing the other discussions and announcements.

Also, I at least might be more inclined to answer newbie questions on a
separate list because such a list would be specifically set up for that
purpose. To be honest, I am a little uncomfortable posting such messages here,
because I know that for most, or at least many, subscribers they are
superfluous, and may be regarded as a nuisance.

Finally, newbie questions often get many similar replies, and partly because
of the delay between posting and bouncing, I don't know that my post won't be
redundant; on a newbie list I might be less worried about that.

-- 
Frank Atanassow, Information & Computing Sciences, Utrecht University
Padualaan 14, PO Box 80.089, 3508 TB Utrecht, Netherlands
Tel +31 (030) 253-3261 Fax +31 (030) 251-379
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