Re: Mailing lists and news archiving

[Russ Allbery <rra@stanford.edu>]

Per Abrahamsen <abraham@dina.kvl.dk> writes:
> Russ Allbery <rra@stanford.edu> writes:
>> Per Abrahamsen <abraham@dina.kvl.dk> writes:

>>> If we make the mailing list archives too systematic, they might lose
>>> some of the properties that differentiate them from Usenet.  Mailing
>>> lists tend to appear more exclusive, and less prone to spammers and
>>> trolls.  Especially if they are bi-directional, like Lars want.

>> Hm.  I'm not sure whether security via obscurity would help here or not.

> The obscurity is the only significant difference between Usenet groups
> and mailing lists as far as I can see.

I don't think it's the obscurity so much as having to take a positive
action to join and participate in the mailing list.  I think it serves as
a low-grade filter that weeds out people with only a casual or browsing
interest in the topic.

In some ways this is a bad thing, as there is an audience that the mailing
list doesn't reach.  Some of those people may get slowly sucked in and
eventually become maintainers or significant contributors.

In other ways, though, this is a very good thing.  You don't get the hit
and run vandals on mailing lists like you do on Usenet.  (Well, some of
that also has to do with the fact that the mailing list has a central
point of control and people can be easily banned if it's necessary to do
so.)  There tends to be more topical focus, and more willingness to self-
police in a manner that doesn't just degrade into endless arguments.

I'm not sure how the creation of a lot of mail to news gateways would
change that dynamic, if it does at all.  It feels complicated to me.

-- 
Russ Allbery (rra@stanford.edu)             <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>