Re: DBD::Informix and comp.databases.informix

--- Jonathan Leffler <jleffler@informix.com> > wrote: >Dear Informix User, > >I've been justifiably chastised for being very grumpy when people post >questions about DBD::Informix to comp.databases.informix -- I do get >grumpy when people do that. Two grumpy contributers today? > >There are two documented support channels for DBD::Informix: > >* a high-volume public mailing list, dbi-users@isc.org, which has a > small volume of Informix traffic and hence a low S/N ratio. >* a low-volume private mailing list, dbd-informix@informix.com, > specifically to the Informix support effort (aka me). You won't be > subscribed to this list, but you can use it to communicate problems. > >Given these alternatives, is it fair for me to complain when the >unknowing send questions to a plausible alternative (high-volume) news >group / mailing list, namely comp.databases.informix? Put another way, >would the Informix community as a whole benefit from having >DBD::Informix questions answered on c.d.i? It may be that they are not aware of those other avenues. I can understand someone needing to come up to speed and stumbling onto this forum before running across the others. Perhaps a pointer to the alternatives on first offense. >Also (and semi-relevantly to another thread started by another obnoxious >question answerer), is it fair to point out RTFM to people asking >questions where the answer is in TFM? I probably ask questions from time to time that are contained in *A* manual, but maybe not one I've got access to (Has anyone tried to get on the Informix.com site lately? Most of the time I can't connect.) I think how the question is asked has a bearing too. If the question is, like some recent ones, "How do I do something that should obviously be in the manual." nail 'em. If someone isn't familiar with the terminology, it's awfully hard to look it up in the manual. >More complexly, I've just come across a new class of user for >DBD::Informix. Up until now, people who were using DBD::Informix had >also installed it, or they had easy access to the source code. Now I'm >finding that there as some (potential) users who do not install >DBD::Informix themselves, and hence do not have easy access to the >source code. Since some of the documentation is not installed with the >product (mainly because it only applies to a few circumstances), what >about people who RTFM but do not read the correct TFM because they do >not have direct access to the uninstalled documentation. Of course, all >such users can get the source code (and it's the simple cop-out for me), >but... > >Your thoughts, please - publicly or privately. > >-- >Yours, >Jonathan Leffler (Jonathan.Leffler@Informix.com) #include <disclaimer.h> >Guardian of DBD::Informix v1.00.PC1 -- http://www.perl.com/CPAN > "I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it!" > >PS: S/N ratio = signal to noise ratio. Small values are bad; large >values are good. Mostly, c.d.i has an acceptable S/N ration, but it is >trending downwards, which is bad. As a contributor to the 'N' portion of that ratio, I'll try to contain myself. Even if somebody else does always seem to get in the last word (ahem). == Maintainer of the procrastinator's FAQ. Well, maybe tomorrow I will be. _____________________________________________________________ Want a new web-based email account ? ---> http://www.firstlinux.net