Re: list discussion

[Gary Lawrence Murphy <garym@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>>>> "G" == Greg E Priest-Dorman <priestdo@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

    G> This list is here so that emacspeak users can help eachother
    G> use emacspeak.  So I will again say, if you see a question you
    G> can answer, go for it.  Its that simple.

The corrollary of this, of course, is that if you see a question
you would rather not answer, leave it be.  Don't attack it, just 
ignore it; I trust most people here do just that.

It is true that no one here is going to devote their own time to a
toll-free number --- there are others who do this already.  For
example, there is a toll-free number for Linux support, at $14/call,
which you can find at http://ca.bynari.net.  Still, when a product is
shipped with an email address, users will assume that address is for
assistance.  Like it or not, the address given with emacspeak is for
this list.  You put two and two together and you get people emailing
this list _expecting_ help, and that is not the fault of Apple or
Microsoft; toll-free numbers have been on product labels for decades.
Perhaps, like in the linux kernel, the docs shipped with Emacspeak
should be explicit and honest about the nature of this email address,
that it is just volunteers and users helping each other.

What we have done in the past for other projects is to establish peer
support groups at varying expertise levels, for example, our free
internet service is officially unsupported by SmartTech, but we have a
thriving mailing list where members help each other.  BLinux-newbies
is a similar list although it has a far wider scope than just
emacspeak.

-- 
Gary Lawrence Murphy <garym@xxxxxxxxxxx>: office voice/fax: 01 519 4222723
T(C)Inc Business Innovations through Open Source http://www.teledyn.com
M:I-3 - Documenting the Linux kernel: http://kernelbook.sourceforge.net
Free Internet for a Free O/S? - http://www.teledyn.com/products/FreeWWW

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