[missing-sync-palmos-talk] Link question

[Michael Gregory]

I'll chime in and second this train of thought.

I've been subscribed to this mailing list for about 4 months and have  
got used to it, but at first I found to be totally foreign and  
antiquated.
Because I was new to this hardware and software solution I sat and  
poured through all the archives for hours clicking and reading to try  
and get some background on possible issues I'd be facing with the new  
setup. I really did have to sift through a ton of posts to try and  
get the useful bits.
Since then my daily newsletter has been useful in keeping me up to  
date, but I don't look forward to having to go back and find an  
archived solution if I have a problem. It may be possible to download  
an archive and use spotlight to search it but I haven't tried it. I  
*always* search first when trouble shooting - why ask the same old  
question over again, people will stop responding altogether.

A bulletin board I subscribe to has a daily/ weekly digest of the  
posts, to my mind this is the best of both worlds, a searchable  
organized resource and a daily mailing of the threads.
Going off the credits it's a phpBB setup.

Michael


On 10/08/2006, at 5:00 AM, missing-sync-palmos-talk- 
request at lists.markspace.com wrote:

> As with all things in life, things become useful if they can be  
> found and if
> they are organized.
>
>> totally useless as any kind of technical
>> resource.
>
> Currently the messaages in this list (in my email box) are not  
> organized
> because each mail has the same category when it comes in.  
> Information can
> therefore NOT easily be "found" -- only easily be "searched" for.
>
> There is a big difference in "find" and "search". The "searcher"  
> must know
> (exactly) what he or she is looking for. And the spelling be better  
> correct!
> And what if an author misspelled important words? Will a search for  
> "synch"
> come up with "sync" as result? A lot of users don't even speak  
> english as
> their mother language. Spanish would be more likely - or Chinese...
>
> Must I set up multiple categories in my email program and attribute  
> them to
> each email message as it comes in -- to facilitate future findings?
>
> Furthermore, I cannot search for articles in the past because I  
> recycle and
> archive my email (as should do everybody) because this keeps my  
> application
> and database slim, sporty and fast (Entourage in my case).
>
> A forum is in every aspect better:
>
> 1. A forum can be organized in Tutorials, Stickies, numerous  
> Subtopics (for
> example synch issues vs. application install issues -- to name a few).
>
> 2. A board can allow attached images (screenshots) of problematic
> constallations (error messages, lenghty log reports, window and  
> preference
> settings).
>
> 3. vBulletin also allows "related" topics which serves a novice as  
> it offers
> alternative verbage to a subject which lets the novice then  
> successfully
> search for a solution if he or she can't find it. Keep in mind that  
> novices
> often don't know how to express themselves, yet alone to "search" the
> solution. A novice rather want's to "find" a solution by BROWSING  
> magazine
> style content rather than scrolling through ENDLESS emails - in  
> ASCII...
>
> Think about this: why does Apple use a discussion forum and not an  
> email
> list? Answer: because that company reaches out for the novice.  
> Anybody who
> encounters a problem and does not have the solution is a novice at  
> that
> moment.
>
> Email lists are great for chatter bugs.
>
>
> Martin
>
>
> PS: Who wants to trouble shoot complex synching problems when  
> without Web
> connection? This is never useful as often updates have to be  
> downloaded or
> other important data can only be researched via Google or on the  
> developer's
> website.