I probably shouldn't suggest this, because I can't volunteer to implement it. However, I bring it up in the hopes that if (1) others agree and (2) the R core group think it a good idea that a suitable volunteer will come forward. I am finding that the flood of R email messages is becoming difficult to deal with, even using filters, etc., in my email client. Would we be better served by establishing a Usenet newsgroup? Would that be practical or impractical? Would it create problems for the maintainers of R? -- Michael Prager <Mike.Prager at noaa.gov> NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research Beaufort, North Carolina 28516 USA http://shrimp.ccfhrb.noaa.gov/~mprager/ Standard Disclaimers: * Opinions expressed here are personal and are not otherwise represented. * Any use of tradenames does not constitute a NOAA or NMFS endorsement.
At 07:17 AM 5/30/2003, Mike Prager wrote: >I probably shouldn't suggest this, because I can't volunteer to implement >it. However, I bring it up in the hopes that if (1) others agree and (2) >the R core group think it a good idea that a suitable volunteer will come >forward. > >I am finding that the flood of R email messages is becoming difficult to >deal with, even using filters, etc., in my email client. Would we be >better served by establishing a Usenet newsgroup? Would that be practical >or impractical? Would it create problems for the maintainers of R? > I agree with you on the "flood" of messages lately. Often this flood accompanies a new release, but this flood has continued unabated for longer than I would have imagined. The good news is that R is becoming more popular and this (hopefully) attracts more developers, which results in more libraries, etc. The bad news is that with more users come more questions. The problem I see with a Usenet group is that unless it is moderated, the ratio of noise to signal is quite high and flame wars erupt, spam bots scour for new email addresses to plague and the war merely escalates. There are two problems with moderation: 1) someone has to moderate the group; 2) someone has to inform users of inappropriate posts - maybe; and 3) the message delay would be intolerable to those accustomed to the near instant feedback we are privileged to get with the superb list we have now. One alternative to a Usenet newsgroup would be something along the lines of SourceForge's discussion boards. At least this requires the project to be registered and the group be accessible via a web-interface. Personally, I don't find it a huge burden to go through and filter messages by topics that interest me at the moment. I move all the other R related posts to my own archive and, if I need something not personally archived, I have other sources to get them from. Have you considered getting the messages in digest form?
"Mike Prager" <Mike.Prager at noaa.gov> writes:> I am finding that the flood of R email messages is becoming difficult > to deal with, even using filters, etc., in my email client. Would we > be better served by establishing a Usenet newsgroup? Would that be > practical or impractical? Would it create problems for the > maintainers of R?everything is possible -- but you should ask whether the people you'd like to be on the newsgroup would follow, and perhaps if it isn't just a matter of modifying email client/usage of email work habits. For me, it's mostly a matter of permanently sorting/scoring on a few key people (r-core and 7 others) and temporarily sorting/scoring on interesting threads/topics, and that seems to take care of 95% of the information I'm looking for (i.e. orders the mail to read, when I want/need/etc to read), the rest ending up in an end-of-the-day/week/month mailbox/folder to peruse later. But your needs might be different. best, -tony -- A.J. Rossini / rossini at u.washington.edu / rossini at scharp.org Biomedical/Health Informatics and Biostatistics, University of Washington. Biostatistics, HVTN/SCHARP, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. FHCRC: 206-667-7025 (fax=4812)|Voicemail is pretty sketchy/use Email CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message and any attachments ... {{dropped}}