Inactive mailing lists

[Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss]

On 5/1/23 16:07, Sune Vuorela wrote:
> On 2023-04-30, Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss <joseph at kde.org> wrote:
> [Low traffic lists with relevant subscribers]
>> In my opinion moving discussions to more active channels like Matrix or
>> Discuss may increase visibility of the topics discussed and encourage
>> participation from the larger community. Such migrations are likely
>> already happening, organically.
> 
> One thing to be very aware of though is that it might separate the
> people who has the answers (the current subscribed people) with the
> people who has the questions (the people we now redirect elsewhere)
> 
> Unless we can get the current subscribed people to also move to the new
> platform, this might not be a good idea.

Agree.

If groups want to keep a mailing list open and use another platform at 
the same time, which I think most will do, information can be provided 
to subscribers about what other communication channels exist.

The Visual Design Group's mailing list description provides a good 
template for how to inform subscribers about where to get relevant 
information and interact with the community (although their Matrix 
channel is missing):

   https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/visual-design

> Also, being subscribed to a low traffic email list is rarely something
> people actually notice, so the people is likely to stay around for a
> longer time. The UI of mail clients and subscriptions rarely get in the
> way for that.
> 

I agree with this point. I don't know how it is for new subscribers, 
though. It may be suboptimal for a new KDE contributor to go through the 
process of signing up to a list and finding a dormant community.

I wonder if, for at least some groups, it may be better to move from 
mailing lists to a higher-activity platform like Discuss, where there is 
more opportunity for visibilty in the wider community. Specifically, I 
am thinking of the "Local communities" groups, for which there is 
already a high-level category in Discuss.

   https://discuss.kde.org/t/about-the-local-communities-category/688

Just an example, and other groups may also benefit from such a move.

> The ui of e.g. Matrix very much gets in the way of staying in 200 low
> traffic channels.

This is an excellent point re Matrix and low traffic channels. I fully 
share this opinion.

Cheers,
Joseph

> /Sune
> 

-- 
Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss
KDE Internal Communications & KDE Eco Community Manager
OpenPGP: 8FC5 4178 DC44 AD55 08E7 DF57 453E 5746 59A6 C06F
Matrix: @joseph:kde.org

Generally available Monday-Thursday from 10-16h CET/CEST. Outside of 
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