Question about this list

[Ben Gamari]

Excerpts from Ben Gamari's message of Wed Jan 27 20:59:36 -0500 2010:
Excerpts from Amahdy's message of Wed Jan 27 20:01:09 -0500 2010:
> >Because what we have works very well and doesn't rely on an external entity.
> 
> We all know that there is "no bug free software", so if mailman is very good,
> google-groups are -per my usage- very good too

Excellent. Your usage evidently differs from that of a great number of
open source hackers, in that case.

> >Mailing lists are the lifeblood of most open source projects.
> 
> Always wondering why!! why not move on to a *group*
> 
A better question would be why _should we_ move on to a "group." I see
no clear answer to this question.

> >they perform their designated task far more effectively.
> 
> More effectively based on what?

More effective given the criteria of being able to send email to a group
of subscribers in a reliable and consistent fashion with little
administrative overhead. Most subscribers have no desire to use the
"features" that you mentioned above ("files storage, docs") for the same
reason that they despise the HTML MIME attachments that accompany your
email.  I work from a console and prefer to keep it that way whenever
possible.  Breaking into a browser for me is a distraction at best and
effectively impossible at worst (i.e. offline). The idea of a mailing
list is quite simple: allow individuals to communicate ideas within a
group quickly and simply. Any "features" beyond this are little more
than a distraction.

> in our list here, open the archive, then choose January-2010, then
> choose sort by date, then open a random thread, then press "Next"

As I mentioned before, I think the Google Groups archive interface is a
perfect example of why it shouldn't be used for technical discussion. It
is a user-interface nightmare.

Cheers,
- Ben