Since I maintain the channel bot I figured I would give my opinion. I really don't like the idea of disrupting all the discussion that takes place in the channel with that type of message, it would be very spammy, and I think the majority of the people that are in the channel on a regular basis would agree. It would also be just another place we would have to duplicate information that is readily available elsewhere. <div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 8:28 PM, Wesley Harp <<a href="mailto:wesleyharp@gmail.com">wesleyharp@gmail.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Sure, those are the people asking the questions.  But my whole point is that it takes very little effort for someone to FIND the information ON THEIR OWN.  We should not have to spoon feed this to people.  And I don't mind answering questions.  None of us do.  But if a person is not willing to take 5 minutes and look for an answer on their own then I do mind answering questions at that point.  However, I disagree about repeating a message in channel.  Repeating a message in channel is just spam and it will be ignored as much as the topic, except it will be more annoying.  Your reasons for IRC participation are all valid, but that still doesn't mean people should make IRC their first stop for information when there are so many other resources that already have that information available.  IRC is a great place for discussion and being part of a community, but those things are separate from simple factual knowledge that is contained elsewhere.  Whether or not we have a FAQ is something you should know, and if not, then it's something you should be able to find out.  The agenda is set before the meeting starts.  If you'd like to add it to the agenda then feel free to do just that.  <div class="gmail_quote"><div class="Ih2E3d">On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 7:50 PM, Greg McCrory <<a href="mailto:greg@coolbrew.com" target="_blank">greg@coolbrew.com</a>> wrote: </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div class="Ih2E3d"> <div>Wesley Harp wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> There really is no function to do that and even if there were, how is that much different than having a channel topic which is already mostly ignored? Besides, that would only provide information to those people who actually use IRC. </blockquote></div></div> But aren't those the people asking the questions?  I'm sure the channel bot has a function to repeat messages on given intervals.  It's a common IRC function. The channel topic is usually only read on first entry to a channel, and yes it's largely ignored.  But if it's repeated every 5 minutes or so, it will be seen.  Every 20 minutes maybe repeat a link to the wiki or something. why do people come to IRC?  They come to ask questions, find answers, engage in discourse, and get some sort of feeling that they are part of a community.  The FAQ should be scrolled by every so often (at least a link to the FAQ) we have a FAQ don't we? :-) I'll see you tonight, and maybe we can add this issue to the agenda. GMc <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="Ih2E3d"><div> On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 7:14 PM, Greg McCrory <<a href="mailto:greg@coolbrew.com" target="_blank">greg@coolbrew.com</a> <mailto:<a href="mailto:greg@coolbrew.com" target="_blank">greg@coolbrew.com</a>>> wrote:    I would even venture the argument that recent decisions, notices, and    other information should be continuously scrolled on the IRC    channel by    the channel bot.    Dustin Puryear wrote:    > Did you know the list is configured to reply to the OP instead    of back    > to the list? I just clicked Reply and it was addressed to </div></div>    > <a href="mailto:wesj@wesleyharp.com" target="_blank">wesj@wesleyharp.com</a> <mailto:<a href="mailto:wesj@wesleyharp.com" target="_blank">wesj@wesleyharp.com</a>>. Odd. Just a FYI.<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"> <div><div></div><div>    >    > Anyway, this is pretty much par for the course, so you just have    to get    > used to it. If someone asks something that is already    documented, just    > reply with the URL. Eventually that will help. Otherwise, that's    just    > the way the Internet is. :)    >    > --    > Dustin Puryear    > President and Sr. Consultant    > Puryear Information Technology, LLC    > 225-706-8414 x112    > <a href="http://www.puryear-it.com" target="_blank">http://www.puryear-it.com</a>    >    > Author, "Best Practices for Managing Linux and UNIX Servers"    >    <a href="http://www.puryear-it.com/pubs/linux-unix-best-practices/" target="_blank">http://www.puryear-it.com/pubs/linux-unix-best-practices/</a>    >    >    > Wesley Harp wrote:    >    >> I don't want to be writing this email, I wish there was no    need.  That    >> being said, it is not my intention to step on anyone's toes or    offend    >> anyone.  Additionally, I am not speaking for the group even if    I use    >> "we" or any other plural pronoun.    >>    >> Our resources are stretched pretty thinly.  For a team with 30+    members,    >> there is a very small minority doing most of the work.  I    understand    >> that's how thing are in life and I'm ok with it, or at least    more ok    >> with it than I used to be.  That being said, what I don't think    is ok is    >> for all the work we are doing to be ignored.  We try to keep    everyone    >> informed as much as possible.  We send out information to the    mailing    >> list, there are posts on the forums, meeting reminders are sent    out, and    >> there are details on things on the wiki.  All this takes a LOT    of work.    >> We miss some things, but by and large the information is all up    to date    >> and accurate.    >>    >> I feel like no matter how much information we're putting out    there, we    >> keep getting asked the same questions over and over.  Questions    whose    >> answers are easily found on one or more of our team resources    (wiki,    >> forum, Google calendar, etc.).  The answers are always    available if you    >> do a little looking.  I understand that everyone doesn't have    the same    >> amount of time to put forth, but for the people who show up    once every    >> month or so and want to know why they don't know about decision    X, or    >> feature Y I'm not sure what to say.  We can only do so much. If    people    >> aren't willing to keep themselves informed and up to date on what's    >> going on there's not much we can do about that.  At the same    time, we    >> aren't here to spoon feed information to everyone.    >>    >> All I'm asking is that people read the information we're    sending out and    >> make sure to check the site and other resources before you ask your    >> questions.  If you're going to commit to being a part of the    team, then    >> part of that commitment is keeping yourself informed.  It's up    to you.    >>    >>    >> Wes    >>    >>    >    >    --    Ubuntu-us-la mailing list </div></div></div></div>    <a href="mailto:Ubuntu-us-la@lists.ubuntu.com" target="_blank">Ubuntu-us-la@lists.ubuntu.com</a> <mailto:<a href="mailto:Ubuntu-us-la@lists.ubuntu.com" target="_blank">Ubuntu-us-la@lists.ubuntu.com</a>><div class="Ih2E3d"> <div>    Modify settings or unsubscribe at:    <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-la" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-la</a> </div></div></blockquote> </blockquote></div> -- Ubuntu-us-la mailing list <a href="mailto:Ubuntu-us-la@lists.ubuntu.com">Ubuntu-us-la@lists.ubuntu.com</a> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-la" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-la</a> </blockquote></div> -- Trey Get Ubuntu Today! <a href="http://ubuntu.com">ubuntu.com</a>