[plug] Newcomers' welcome (revised)

[James Devenish]

In message <1107594729.1007.34.camel at compaq.mydomain>
on Sat, Feb 05, 2005 at 05:10:59PM +0800, Gavin Chester wrote:
> However, the overarching comment (NOT criticism) I have is that you have
> tried to cover so much ground that I feel the document has simply become
> way too long and will be overwhelming as a first greeting.  I would
> suggest distilling perhaps 6-10 salient issues and have them as
> one-liner bullet points with a link to a page on PLUG's website to read
> the full version.

I have seen the bullet-point approach used for some other lists, but my
personal problems with it are:

 - Dot points invariably require further explanation or clarification.
   I don't want to be in a situation where I don't understand the dot
   points, because it makes me feel I have to post to the list merely to
   clarify the rules I was expected to understand prior to posting to
   the list.
 - I find the `follow this link` scenario useless because I do not
   want to involve myself in a link-following exercise that implies
   an indefinite volume of further reading. This is one of my personal
   problems with people pointing to ESR's document. Thus, I wanted to
   keep the number of links to a minimum. My only reason for including
   any links at all is that people may want to delete the e-mail and
   simply keep a web bookmark. In other words, I have tried to make the
   PLUG Newcomers' message self-contained so that its full extent is
   apparent and limited.
 - My personal preference is for a list to include its expectations
   "up front" so that I feel "duly informed".

On Sat, Feb 05, 2005 at 04:07:59PM +0800 someone wrote:
> > would not need know other details like your graphics rating
> WTF is a "graphics rating"?  Perhaps "graphics hardware".

Whatever it is, we don't need to know about it. I probably should have
written "graphics specifications" to avoid insulting ourselves.

In message <200502051807020590.068A057B at mail.webace.com.au>
on Sat, Feb 05, 2005 at 06:07:02PM +0800, Mark J Gaynor wrote:
> >If you are new to Linux and are asking a question for the first
> >time, you may wish to introduce yourself and indicate your level
> >of (or lack of) familiarity with Linux-based computing. Your
>      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Let' be positive here. This may be interpreted in ways not intended.
> I would leave this out!

Hmm...it *is* positive (i.e. it is okay if you don't have familiarity).
Leaving it out makes the sentence open to the implication that you are
supposed to have a pre-existing confidence with Linux. So, I would not
consider a simple deletion of the parenthesis acceptable. I would
suggest something more along the lines of "...indicate whether you
are already familiar with using Linux...".

> >We do not mind if you "break a few rules" when you are new, but
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Why have guidelines if you publicly state that we don't mind if you
> break them.

Well, these are guidelines, not regulations. Newcomers should know
that we do not expect them to impose upon themselves a prerequisite
of 100% compliance certification.

> I find the best way to fix any problems is to refer offenders to the
> guidelines and let them fix it themselves.

Agreed, and hence I refer to that in the text itself.

> >The following guidelines can also be viewed and bookmarked at
> >our website if you wish to delete this e-mail:
> >	http://www.plug.linux.org.au/resources/mailing-list#guidelines
> 
> I can't find it at present,

I don't believe there's been enough feedback to consider the guidelines
"ratified". Thus, I have not made them part of the list or website.