[gopher] Future of this mailing list
Stephen Kellat
smkellat at icloud.com
Thu Oct 19 00:02:11 UTC 2017
> On Oct 18, 2017, at 4:16 PM, John Goerzen <jgoerzen at complete.org> wrote:
>
>
> IPad <ipad at petergarner.net> writes:
>
>>>
>>> 2) Migration to Google Groups
>>
>> Based on Google's record on closing down allegedly unpopular (but widely used) services, I wouldn't want to risk this. And I don't really trust Google.
>>
>>> 3) Migration to some other service (which?)
>>
>> NNTP seems pretty straightforward and there seems to be quite a good
>> selection of software. I'm now using it on a daily basis on Android
>> and Linux.
>
> To sum up what I've heard so far:
>
> Nobody likes Google Groups.
>
> There is some support for lists.debian.org or other such things.
>
> There are strong feelings on both sides if the NNTP issue.
>
> Let me just add my two cents on NNTP. A newsgroup already exists.
> Those for whom that is a suitable forum are already there. I think that
> would spell the end of this group. Why?
>
> 1) The barrier to entry is high. It means we are not welcoming to
> newcomers and require more effort than any other free software project
> for everyone.
>
> 2) The stack is dated.
>
> I used to maintain an ISP's INN server and tin client back in the day.
> I know how this stuff works. I used Gnus for mail and news for yeras.
> But I have zero participation on Usenet anymore. The protocol doesn't
> permit sync of state across devices like IMAP does. It is quite
> inconvenient.
>
> 3) A different "inbox" from everything else is likely to be forgotten in
> short order.
>
> 4) A partial solution to some of this is Google Groups. But - see above
> on Google Groups.
>
> My own participation in the list is likely to either end or switch to
> Google Groups if that is the way we go. I'm just one guy, but I'm just
> being honest about stuff. I barely have time to keep up with all my
> lists as it is. Throw a whole different protocol and app stack into the
> mix, and it just isn't worth it.
>
> John
>
>
I’ve been a bit busy to respond. Getting my dotfiles right at SDF to read NNTP in alpine in an SSH session hasn’t been successful so far. Charter/Spectrum/TWC has NNTP traffic blocked and Eternal September is blocked. Unless I get into undocumented adventures with UUCP tunneled through SSH to have a leaf node at home...well, you get the idea. This is impossible right now for me. Working in a terminal session with the IRS mainframe in Individual Masterfile accounts is immensely simpler.
Google Groups is a nightmare.
I’ll gladly support a move to lists.debian.org. If a need for moderation exists I can try to request list resources at lists.ubuntu.com where that is doable.
Stephen Michael Kellat
73s de KC8BFI
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