Date : Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:11:37 +0100
From : rick@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: Mailing list
Alex Taylor wrote:
> If all the interesting activity happens on forums,
I guess it depends upon how much commitment there is? Not by the forum
people, by YOU. Certainly I've not seen any centralised archival system
for the plethora of forums [fori? :-)] in the same manner as
groups.google.com. If I want to see if some obscure bit of serial port
programming for the Acorn PocketBook has been discussed, I can, for a
good way back in time, including replies, threaded, etc.
Is there a forum for the SIBO machines? How about Econet? The streaming
radio station I listen to [http://kawaii-radio.net/] has a forum. Not
much activity, but then again would you even see it if you didn't happen
across their website?
> and wilfully ignoring the interesting stuff happening somewhere else.
True, to a degree. I'm afraid I'm more likely - unless it is something
that really interests me - to say forget it.
There was a forum for the Zone Horror (DBS) channel. I was looking
forward to reading it when I was online. Only, it is no longer there.
Newsgroups, once created, are pretty much perpetual. The alt.tv.mscl (My
So Called Life) group is available to me via orange.fr. It probably
hasn't had any actual traffic in years, if not coming onto a decade? It
was starting to thin out in early 2002, never mind practically 2010.
Forums, on the other hand, require a server. An administrator. Somebody
to oversee the whole shebang. IF they feel like it, can be bothered, can
justify the expense, etc. This makes them highly arbitrary.
> It's a shame, because I can use old hardware to read Usenet (such as
> the Mac IIci I previously mentioned). Such a machine will read web
> forums, but it's miserably slow - and the machine's been accelerated
> with a 50MHz 68030 upgrade.
On a similar note, I was always led to believe that shortish, snappy web
pages were often better than long pages. I write a number of long pages
but you'll find it is about a theme, be it relocatable modules in
assembler or rescuing a 'near dead' FileStore, or whatever. Perhaps the
most disorganised non-thematic example is my b.log which is about
whatever I care to write about on a given day. Some pages are pretty
big, like the PVR review, but the thing is otherwise organised by date.
Enter online blogs. I've seen way too many listed in reverse
chronological order. Now that should set alarms bells ringing. Because,
yes, it's a list of entries that Goes On B****y Forever Without End (or
so it seems). I'm going to write about this on MY b.log :-) but until
then, here's a URL that I found. Interesting opinionated lady with cute
daughter and a LOT of entries.
http://www.outsidevoice.net/archives/general_ranting/
Firefox with 1Gb RAM copes. I'd rather like to see how well MSIE6/XP in
128Mb gets on. As for Fresco on the RiscPC or, erm, anything? I dunno. I
think this is just getting too big, too ridiculous, too BREAK IT INTO
BITS PURLEEEEEZE!
Maybe this is all part of the digital malaise? What we all are supposed
to call Web 2.0 is not so much whoo-hoo but OMG for we are being
clobbered with way more data than is ever necessary based upon the
assumption that:
1. You've got stupid amounts of memory
(I recall when 40Mb was a complete harddisc - now just *loading*
the browser causes the free pool to drop by more than twice that)
2. You've got unlimited fast connectivity
(well, I've got 1mbit and it's still going in a storm, with *no*
FUP nonsense; but I know a number of people saddled with dialup
and, hell, I've seen servers (EasyJet anybody?) try to toss a
large image while processing credit card details; it takes too
long to the transaction times out - these people have to find
somebody with broadband so they can book a flight... why? there's
no need for it - it's just inconsiderate!)
Oh, and there's the option 3 - the expectation that you have all day.
With a date-organised blog, you can "dip in", look for topics (if it
provides hints/descriptions of entries) or just Google the site. With an
all-in-one, it's a mish-mash. If you Google 'x', you then have to either
read or ^F and search yet again. Oh, and never mind the fact that most
browsers I've seen bookmark a page and not a place-in-a-page.
In a way, this all makes JGH's approach all the more awesome. :-)
Best wishes,
Rick.
--
Rick Murray, eeePC901 & ADSL WiFI'd into it, all ETLAs!
BBC B: DNFS, 2 x 5.25" floppies, EPROM prog, Acorn TTX
E01S FileStore, A3000/A5000/RiscPC/various PCs/blahblah...
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