From NNTP to PHP
Apr. 19th, 2017 08:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtbcYears ago much discussion took place on newsgroups and mailing lists. Once set up with one's chosen client (mine being Gnus) one could freely discuss many topics both on-list and off. It was easy, convenient and useful. Then, idiots and abusers and shiny-new came along.
These days discussion appears spread over myriad semi-usable web fora. I noticed that this causes me to leech useful information from threads without seeding any myself. For example, through searching the web I find somebody struggling with a problem that I am also seeing then, later on when I solve it, I look at if I can somehow provide them the answer, but find that I cannot determine an e-mail address for them and to reply via the forum then I would have to sign up for it myself, figure out how to stop it sending me e-mail, etc.
It thus feels like more than double the effort for a useful interaction that is of little profit to me so I just don't bother. It is sometimes with a touch of wistful sadness that I remember how easy it once was to casually participate. At least with some systems, like bug trackers for major projects, I have a fair idea that I may already have an account, though associated with which e-mail address from which workplace is another matter. The increase in bugs being auto-closed makes me bother less there too though: after all, it takes some effort to file a good bug report.
These days discussion appears spread over myriad semi-usable web fora. I noticed that this causes me to leech useful information from threads without seeding any myself. For example, through searching the web I find somebody struggling with a problem that I am also seeing then, later on when I solve it, I look at if I can somehow provide them the answer, but find that I cannot determine an e-mail address for them and to reply via the forum then I would have to sign up for it myself, figure out how to stop it sending me e-mail, etc.
It thus feels like more than double the effort for a useful interaction that is of little profit to me so I just don't bother. It is sometimes with a touch of wistful sadness that I remember how easy it once was to casually participate. At least with some systems, like bug trackers for major projects, I have a fair idea that I may already have an account, though associated with which e-mail address from which workplace is another matter. The increase in bugs being auto-closed makes me bother less there too though: after all, it takes some effort to file a good bug report.
no subject
Date: 2017-04-20 04:42 pm (UTC)The bigger fora kind of work, if you already have accounts. reddit for lots of stuff, including technical, though it can't really handle ongoing threads of discussion. RPG.net can, but is mostly RPG and media stuff, not computer advice. There's Stack Overflow, though I don't have the rep to do much yet.