Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (1701 mails)

[Philipp Thomas <pth@xxxxxxx>]

How about not using flowing text but rather limit line lengths? Even most GUI
MUAs I know are able to do so when configured appropriately.

* Linda Walsh (suse@xxxxxxxxx) [20090926 03:55]:

> If you limit the list to bottoms, then you get a certain type of mentality
> that will go into creating Suse -- which is no longer 'Open'.

That's spreading plain FUD! And by limiting the list to bottoms you simply
try to get people to abide by rules that have been set up and that most
people abide to.  You won't go and demand that books are printed bottom up,
do you?

> Users WON'T read through alot of text to get to what they need to do --

It's simply a matter of people trimming their quotes to the necessary parts.
If that would be done, there wouldn't be much scrolling.

> nor will they have the patience to pour through lots of tedious
> configurations or options just to try something.

Would just be an argument for delivering MUAs with different default
settings :)

> That can easily be tied to an artistic sense of what looks right vs.  a
> 'logical order' mentality.

No, it's a commonly agreed way of doing things. If you create a new
community you're free to agree on different rules. But this isn't the place
where you can simply ignore all rules.

For instance most western languages write their lines left to right not top
to bottom.  For us western folks, Hebrew and arabian books are printed back
to front. 

No it can't. You write lines from left to right not from top to bottom 
 
> There needs to be a balance and both views need representation, or
> OpenSuSE won't be the best product it can be...it will steer toward
> 'techies',

You mix communication style with technical knowhow. That's like stating that
artistic abilities are directly linked to the language you speak which of
cause would be nonsense.

> *only*...to be the best there is, you need good support for
> both types of users.

Yes, choose a different media to communicate, be that another mailing list
or web fora.

> One SHOULD not negate the other -- but both sides are needed.

Yes, but not necessarily in the same medium. If top posting and neglect of
editing replies get too much I'll just unsubscribe from this list and I
guess I wouldn't be alone.
 
> Same goes for HTML -- if they take the time to write something in HTML --
> and it looks nice -- maybe you should listen to them for aesthetic
> ideas...

NO! HTML adds *nothing* to a discussion other then bloat. Messages are
defined by content, not style. Even the best of styles won't help if the
content is nonsense.

Most people don't choose html because it's their conscious choice but
because their MUA uses it by default. 

> For those posting in HTML, they should be encouraged, privately, to also
> supply/send the message in plain-text as well as HTML.

Which doubles the needed storage for no benefit what-so-ever.

> You go onto microsoft lists, and probably apple lists -- and HTML is far
> more common.

That's because MS choose to deliver their poor excuse of an MUA configured
in a total ignorance of common style and others followed. Outlook can't even
be configured to completely comply to that style, leave alone supporting
existing RFCs for e-mail.

> It's only in the 'ugly duckling' linux, the lists are generally pushed as
> text-only, and even down to a 'one-format-fits all' approach.  A decided
> difference, wouldn't you say?

I can show you some windows centric mailing lists where a IMO sane style is
used. Like I said, if you want a different style of communication, create a
different way of communicating like choosing web fora or a different mailing
list.

Philipp
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