On Wednesday 26 June 2002 03:48, Brian W. Carver wrote:
Christopher Mahmood wrote: I'm baffled as to why this is the case, but I'm content to drop it, since it was apparently such a roundly hated idea.
It's not a "hated" idea, at least not from my perspective. I am also not saying you are trying to get something for nothing when I asked whether you paid for the software. However, there have been many posts where people do insists others are obligated to answer, although the poster has never paid (and will never pay) for the software. SuSE knows that many people on the list have never paid one cent, pence, yen, or eurocent for the software. However, they still pay to have this list administered. Many of the posts are simply explanations of why questions don't get answered. I support the cause (helping people) and even the method (making sure that things do not fall through the crack). However, what you are suggesting involves a great deal of administrative work. My experience in setting up two hotlines from scratch and the associated problem databases tells me that there is many, many times more administrative work during the initial setup as actual problem solving. My guess at this point is probably 10:1. After it is set up, there is still a lot of administrative work. Depending on the complexity of the problem, you could still have a 1:1 ration of problem solving to admin. Should we all blindly jump up and shout "Great idea! Let's go!"? Or should the people with experience in this (Christopher with managing lists, Phillip and "open source" projects, me and setting up hotlines) tell you what the suggestion **really** means? Hey, if you want to volunteer to set up the database, the user interface, develop a scheduling mechanism, work out an escalation proceedure, write an interface between the list and the problem tracking tool, then I will share my hotline experience and expertise with you. HOWEVER, you are opening yourself up for a heck of a lot of work, even before the first problem is solved. Best Regards, jimmo -- --------------------------------------- "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others thing you are." -- John Wooden --------------------------------------- Be sure to visit the Linux Tutorial: http://www.linux-tutorial.info --------------------------------------- NOTE: All messages sent to me in response to my posts to newsgroups or forums are subject to reposting.