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On 08/11/2016 14:20, Geoff Smith wrote:
Hi
[snip]
I would cite the following arguments for it. 1) I dont want to have to filter out Lua messages from my personal Emails, so I had to create a new mail account solely for this Lua List. Why should I need to do this ? 2) The message board format, is more aesthetic and pleasing on the eye to browse through. 3) Searching old messages is easier with a proper message board 4) Reading code snippets in this mailing list is hard due to the screwed up html formatting. Custom code paste options in message boards solve this problem and make reading code so much better. 5) A minor point granted, but I would much prefer instantly clicking on a html link to read messages than the current irritation of having to log out of my personal email account and log in to my Lua mail account. I cant think of any arguments against a message board format, apart from it would take some time and effort to set this up. I would be interested to hear other peoples opinions about this and why it hasnt already happened ? Am I in the minority with this point of view ? Regards Geoff
I prefer mailing lists essentially because I can download all the new posts in a breeze and then read them offline at my leisure (this is important for me, because I've a wireless Internet connection which sometimes has proven unreliable in the zone I live).
The download is very quick especially if messages are not cluttered by HTML, which most of the time adds nothing to the message, not even readability if you have a decent mail client and spend a little to customize its viewing pane (Thunderbird, for me).
This latter point is essential once I get the information, *I* choose in which way it has to be displayed. With forums each one has its own quirks and I hate to force-adapt to any one of them.
I concede that the general philosophy is almost the same for all the forums, and that's good for forums I visit infrequently, but once I spend considerable time on a forum the HTML interface starts bogging me down, especially the lag when switching pages click by click following links. Moreover, try skimming over a thread with 800+ posts spread across 120+ pages in a web interface (just did two week ago before purchasing an oscilloscope, when I was looking for relevant info and trying to avoid rants, flame-posts and simple chit-chat): I HATED IT!
With my mail client I can go through threads and messages in a much quicker way, and I can visually "filter out" (and even permanently delete) irrelevant posts (or posters) almost instantly. More advanced filtering can be done, too, if needed.
So, to answer to your points in a more direct fashion:1) Filter setup on a decent mail client is not so difficult, and you only learn it once (if you stick with the same client). I subscribe to several mailing lists, but I have just a mail account for all of them (account which I also use for all technical stuff).
2) Agreed, forum format is aesthetically better, but this only matters when you don't need "browsing" speed. Moreover, you can configure the GUI of your mail client to suit your needs better.
3) YMMV. The search engine of many forums is awful. If you have a decent past history on your client it could be much better to use its search capabilities (especially for old messages you remember to have read). If you need to search the archives for messages before your subscription, Lua-l provides a nice search facility with a web interface. You could also download the zipped version of all the old messages and search them as text files on your system using whatever advanced search program you have at your disposal (you could even use a Lua script to do that! They are just text files with no HTML clutter in them!).
4) Mail clients usually lets you select the visualization style. If you set it to "plain text" usually mail messages from lua-l display nicely.
5) It seems that you are using a web interface to browse your mail. You could always log into another account using another tab of the same browser. A proper mail client doesn't have this limitation. It nicely handles multiple accounts. Sure, you must set it up, which sometimes is not straightforward (it depends on if the configuration data is easily found on your provider's website), but afterwards it's a no-brainer.
So, no, sorry, I wouldn't like to switch to a forum based lua-l. It just doesn't fit my bill.
Cheers! -- Lorenzo