16 Jun
2004
16 Jun
'04
2:23 p.m.
Heyall,
Steve Harris <S.W.Harris(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk> wrote:
Wow. I wasn't actually aware that there are people
who prefer forums
(really). The key thing to me for mailing lists is that you dont have to
think about which bits you last read, they just turn up, in a mail folder,
and you dont accidentally miss an interesting discussion because you
forgot to check the forum website for a week.
My memory is not good enough to remmeber what forum
threads and messages I
have read otherwise. Also the time take to compose a typical forum message
is massivly higher than replying to a list - though that way be a point in
forum's favour ;)
The email notification function on the forums I'm suscribed to supersedes my
erasable memory: each time the thread I've been posting to gets an update, I
receive a link that leads me directly to the first unseen message, with the
previous just above!
I must admit the only use I find in the mailing-lists' batched daily digests is
having a look at the threads having been refreshed: I can't then do anything
else but browsing the archive, unless it's more like a crowd cross-talking
upside-down!
Some other arguments in favour of forums?
- sorted by folders... while here all hardware, installation or general issues
are muddled up.
- no need to lose archival space with infinite quotations, but still the abilty
to quote short sections when needed!
- advanced writing capabilities: not that I'd hate ASCII art, but using
underlined or bold words, ordered (or not) lists, enhances the ideas exchange,
so that the reader can oversee faster the issue. (But lose those ugly emoticons
please! ,-)
- less dependent of the user's client: it seems that each time someone here has
a signature beginning with 2 dashes "--" followed by a carriage return, my
email
client (online ISP built-in Horde IMP) can't understand it correctly and
"shadows" all the following messages! (Plain text, not HTML-enabled) And this
client definitely cannot respect the thread tree... When it comes to forums,
Once php is supported, browsers won't groan!
- rewritable media: writing long messages (like now) compells me to use a
notepad to avoid failure whenever the email session expires. (I don't like using
hard-drive installed email clients due to the many times I'm not at home.) On
forums, I can store the message temporarly by previewing it, without rushing on
the keyboard; and correct my mistakes after the first "official draft".
- browsing a user's profile to find all the threads he's created or fed, when
you know you're usually reflecting yourself on his words.
Enough said...
What's the best of both worlds then?
Cheers
Christian Frisson (the one for mailing-lists) aka Mr°Freeze (staying anonymously
cloaked on forums)