Re: Mailing Lists (was Re: Evolving AppCache discussions)

On Thu, Sep 13, 2012 at 5:21 AM, Maciej Stachowiak <mjs@apple.com> wrote:
> * As meaty technical discussion spreads into the focused lists, the general list has less useful technical discussion, and becomes more a venue solely for administriva and noise.

I think you have the cause and effect reversed. I think technical
discussion spreads away from public-html, because this list is already
almost exclusively a venue for administrativia, noise and
social/political dysfuction.

I think the work on the Google/Microsoft/Netflix DRM interface shows
why anyone who wants to do technical work should take discussion away
from this mailing list. The topic is very controversial but, yet, work
on it has been able to proceed virtually without any of the usual
interference less controversial topic get subjected to here while
nominally staying within the HTML WG by moving all discussions of this
mailing list.

Personally, I'm extremely pessimistic about the redeemability of
public-html as a venue for productive technical discussion, but here
are suggestions that could help refocus the list:

 1) Enforce the discussion guidelines swiftly and effectively. Instead
of public warnings that drag on for months or years without remedying
the situation, obvious violations of the discussion guidelines should
result in a timeout (i.e. temporary ban from posting) immediately.
Obvious repeat violations should result in a removal from the working
group.

 2) Stop sending bugmail to the list.

 3) Declare a ban on ratholing on known-rathole topics (such as
longdesc) on public-html and enforce per #1. (That is, let ratholing
move elsewhere instead of everything else routing around public-html.)

-- 
Henri Sivonen
hsivonen@iki.fi
http://hsivonen.iki.fi/

Received on Monday, 24 September 2012 10:18:32 UTC