[clue] Mailing list technical questions

[Kevin Fries]

On 02/09/2011 04:24 PM, Brad Morgan wrote:
>
> > The announcement and job lists will be restored. There are no plans to
>
> > restore the other mailing lists.
>
> Can someone please explain to me the differences between one list with 
> tags and multiple lists without tags?
>
> One reason I can come up with is that maintaining one subscription 
> list is easier than maintaining multiple lists, but the lists are 
> "maintained" by the mailman software, correct? Isn't that software 
> designed to handle a large number of mailing lists with minimal human 
> intervention?
>
> I am looking for a technical discussion. If specific reasons why CLUE 
> started this debate are added, please keep them technical and civil :-)
>
Depending on the software, there is several issues between multiple 
lists, and tags:

Issue one, multiple lists cause the user to have to maintain multiple 
user lists.  This is mostly automatic, but admin are required to clean 
lists, and do other maintenance from time to time.

Issue two, multiple lists are often confusing to many users.  Which list 
should I be on, which lists are available, etc.  One list means the 
answer is easy, this one.  We use tags to separate content.

Issue three, people forget to tag, or use the wrong tags, causing 
filters not to work.  When this happens, people get annoyed by getting 
messages they did not intend.  Also, new users to the list, are often 
the most confused, and many will post in ways that bypass the filters.  
Spammers that get onto the one list, instantly hit a much larger 
audience, making your list a bigger target.  Multiple list means more 
work for the spammer for a smaller audience, often causing them to move 
on.  Spammers are about volume.  (The spammers could be their own issue, 
but I fit it in here).

Issue three, when there are multiple lists, it is easier for someone to 
be segmented off to get only the content that they want.  The problems 
in issue three are not inherent.  It tends to make conversations much 
more focused, well at least in theory.  I tend to find that while 
separate lists do tend to stray off course, it is not as often as with 
single lists.  I watched a thread in the PLUG group go all heywire after 
the Tuscon shootings.  They only maintain one group, and it was very 
difficult to get everyone back on point.  Multiple lists if properly 
designed are much better about that.

The technical issues are small, unless the list is moderated.  A 
moderated list, will almost always be separate list, so that multiple 
moderators can take up individual topics.  But when there is only one, 
person doing all of this, it is easier for there to be one list.  From a 
technological side, there really is no big advantage one way or another 
to the end user.

CLUE has had a decrease in people stepping up to the plate.  I have been 
as guilty as anyone.  As fewer and fewer people are doing the work, it 
is easier on them to have everything in one place.

That is the real issue.

Kevin
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