Subject: pgsql-committers shouldn't be the default "developers" list

From: Tom Lane <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:55:24 -0500

Recently I've noticed an increasing number of clueless-newbie posts on
pgsql-committers, eg
http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-committers/2006-01/msg00132.php
You can debate which list such posts might be appropriate for, but
there is utterly no doubt that -committers ain't it.

It just occurred to me what the probable explanation for this is:
since the archives.postgresql.org left-side menu got rearranged,
pgsql-committers is the list that comes up when you hit "Developers
lists".  And unlike, say, the front page for pgsql-hackers, there
is no verbiage whatsoever in the list description that might suggest
to newbies that this is not the place for their question.

At minimum the list description needs to be filled in, in a way that
will discourage people from posting questions there.  Perhaps

	This list carries CVS commit log messages, and occasionally
	followup discussions arising from them.

	If you have a question that is not directly related to a
	recent commit, it doesn't belong here.

But I'd like to suggest also that slavish adherence to alphabetical
order in the list menus might not be the best thing.  Certainly I'd find
that it usually saves me a click if clicking on "Developers lists"
brought up -hackers as the default selection.  Similarly, in the "User
lists" pgsql-admin doesn't seem like the greatest default (hmm, it seems
like that list's signal-to-noise ratio has dropped lately too...).
Could we point that one at -general perhaps?

			regards, tom lane

---

From: Peter Eisentraut <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:01:35 +0100

Tom Lane wrote:
> order in the list menus might not be the best thing.

Perhaps selecting a list category should not jump straight to a 
particular list (what would you expect when selecting Regional lists?) 
but show an intermediate information page that lists the lists again.

-- 
Peter Eisentraut
http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/

---

From: Devrim GUNDUZ <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:19:33 +0200 (EET)

Hi,

> 	followup discussions arising from them.

(I was about to write an e-mail about this subject)

* We could set a reply-to header for -committers list. I think the best 
could be -hackers lists. The followups should continue there.

* Only the committer people should be able to post to this list (I don't 
mean regular posts. I mean the automated posts via the commit process). 
Other posts should be "rejected" automatically, instead of being held for 
moderator approval.

Regards,
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