Reddit?

[Mark Rousell]

On 31/05/2019 01:14, Gary Kramlich wrote:
> Greetings Programs!
>
> For awhile now I've been trying to think of an easier way for people
> to reach out to us and get support that didn't include joining irc or
> joining the email list.

That's interesting.

Isn't Pidgin itself the sort of program that most computer users
nowadays would perceive as 'not easy'? It seems to me that most Pidgin
users with whom I have come into contact are the exact kinds of people
who would be capable of using IRC or a mail list (and might even prefer
them).

> Also I should note that in the long term I'm really looking to
> shutdown our mailing lists.

Oh dear. :-(

> They're very low traffic and require more
> than zero effort to keep them running/spam free.

Mail lists like this are clean, simple, quick and efficient (at least
from the perspective of their members). Mail lists fit into my personal
workflow because they use a standard protocol that I can route and
manipulate as I wish, meaning that I quickly see new posts and can
efficiently participate.

In comparison, web forums (and this most certainly includes Reddit which
I have tried to get used to) are slow, clumsy and non-standard in terms
of their content presentation. I actually have to remember to log on to
a web forum. As such, web forums can never really become part of my
workflow, except on an occasional, only-when-I-actually-need-it basis.
(And yes, I know that Reddit can send out email notifications but it
still requires me to log on via a web interface to take part).

As an aside, I personally find both phpBB and vBulletin a less
unpleasant user experience than Reddit.

Also, joining a large super-community such as Reddit can force
unpleasant compromises. One particular example is user names: There is a
limited namespace in which everything 'good' is taken. On mail lists I
can use my email address, either my main one or one that is customised
for the particular mail list. They are unequivocally 'me' and no one
else can take them. Whereas when I opened a Reddit account, all versions
of my name were taken. I had to choose a username from their available
namespace which had no semantic link to my my identity elsewhere. It's a
small thing, an annoyance, but an annoyance nevertheless. (Running one's
own web forum can help avoid this over-subscribed namespace issue but of
course it has its own cost/management/spam issues).

All the above said, I do understand how difficult running mail lists is
in today's world. It's a real hassle, and a potentially costly one. But,
sadly, I know I just won't have time to log onto Reddit and wade through
its treacly UI unless and until I actually need help myself.


Having written all this, I must make the obvious observation before
anyone else does: Why should what I think matter? I've never contributed
code to Pidgin and nor have I contributed financially (sorry!). I have
contributed a bit by responding (both on the list and in private) to
some support requests posted here. (I'd have responded to more but I
felt like I was stepping on toes). Beyond that I'm just a happy Pidgin
user and a consultant who recommends Pidgin to clients where feasible
and who provides first line support to them.

In brief, I'm something of an outsider who has now had his say but I
can't and don't expect you to actually spend time and money keeping
greybeards like me happy with mail lists. ;-)




P.S. Despite my comments, I'm not utterly opposed to web forums. I
rather like projects that have a web forum *and* a mail list. And I like
it even more when both are cross-linked, allowing email users to
participate in the web forum just as if they had logged into the web UI.
But I do realise that this type of functionality is rare in practice and
does not necessarily simplify the issue of mailing list
management/deliverability.

-- 
Mark Rousell
 
 
 

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