Open Stack

I agree with this posting. One thing to keep in mind is that OpenStack will have many more "users" (in other words, people who are not developing the software, but rather are implementing it or even using someone's implementation as a basis for end user applications) interested in OpenStack in the future and forums are excellent for end user sharing and searching. For many of them, forums are a more modern way to do this type of research and sharing, while mailing lists are a bit intimidating. I believe that even if the developer list remains on email, there will eventually be forums for non-developers.

Think Matt was saying the same thing as well.

Bernard Golden
bernard.golden at gmail.com




On May 2, 2011, at 3:41 PM, Ron Pedde wrote:

> On 5/2/11 5:10 PM, "Matt Dietz" <matt.dietz at rackspace.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>> Fair points. I can see it being used for user support.
>> 
>> "Another way to have these sorts of discussions would be an
>> openstack-users
>> list, but I think lists present much more friction to tire-kickers or
>> intrigued admins.  Forums have a much lower barrier to entry, and
>> consequently (IMHO) they are better tools for building communities.
>> Controlling forum spam is an amazing pain, but that's another issue.  :)"
>> 
>> 
>> Can you explain this a little? I don't necessarily object, but I frankly
>> don't see the difference, either.
> 
> Hmmm... it's possible that statement is more a reflection of my own
> preferences and experience.
> 
> My experience is that I will peruse mailing list archives, but I will
> rarely *post* to mailing lists.  Something about the formality of it or
> the pain of subscribing and unsubscribing (or something!) makes me much
> more reluctant to join a mailing list than to post a question in a forum.
> If I do join a mailing list, it's because I'm actively using a product or
> project -- I've already made the commitment to be a long-term member of
> the community.  I won't use the list just to ask a simple question about
> installation or configuration.  Forums just seem to me to be much more
> immediate.
> 
> Conversely, I'm also much more likely to answer a question on a forum than
> on a mailing list.
> 
> I also find that forums generally have better search capabilities than
> most list archivers, and I have better luck digging an answer out of a
> forum than a list archive.
> 
> It's possible I'm the only one that feels this way, though, so feel free
> to disregard this data point.  :)
> 
>  -- Ron
> 
> 
>> 
>> On 5/2/11 5:01 PM, "Ron Pedde" <ron.pedde at rackspace.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> On 5/2/11 4:03 PM, "Matt Dietz" <matt.dietz at rackspace.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I think a forum as a means of communication is great. However, I'm not
>>>> sure I feel it's the right fit here. My main concern in this regard is
>>>> that there would be a separation of important discussions.
>>> 
>>> I think the class of questions on a forum would be wildly different than
>>> the questions on a dev mailing list.  Forums would be a great place to
>>> ask
>>> questions like "How do I set up my bridge interface to persist on
>>> reboot"?
>>> Questions like these aren't the right questions for the openstack
>>> mailing
>>> list, and end-users don't want to bother devs with this sort of thing, so
>>> they walk away from the project before getting it set up.  Properly
>>> moderated, the forums could push dev questions to the mailing list, while
>>> removing distraction from devs and building a community of users.
>>> 
>>>> I would also be
>>>> concerned about a feeling of false consensus on hot-button topics that
>>>> see
>>>> activity on one channel but not the other. Finally, we'd be introducing
>>>> yet another fire hose for project communications, and frankly I
>>>> personally
>>>> wouldn't feel compelled to check both, and I'm sure I'm not the only
>>>> one.
>>> 
>>> I don't see forums as a channel for project communication or consensus
>>> building.  I see it more as a way for users-to-user discussion on topics
>>> like "how I implemented X on top of openstack", or "How can I integrate
>>> system X with my openstack cluster".  Things that don't get discussed on
>>> the dev list.
>>> 
>>> Another way to have these sorts of discussions would be an
>>> openstack-users
>>> list, but I think lists present much more friction to tire-kickers or
>>> intrigued admins.  Forums have a much lower barrier to entry, and
>>> consequently (IMHO) they are better tools for building communities.
>>> Controlling forum spam is an amazing pain, but that's another issue.  :)
>>> 
>>> Just my opinion, but I think end-user/sysadmin focused forums are a great
>>> idea.
>>> 
>>> -- Ron
>>> 
>> 
>> 
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