[Tutor] O/T:META: Crossposting

[Danny Yoo]

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005, enas khalil wrote:

>   i want to confirm with you that the right addresses to send to are :
>   python-list at python.org
>   tutor at python.org
>   arent they ?

[Keeping Tutor in CC; if I'm out of line, I want to make sure someone
calls me on it and keeps me grounded.]


Hi Enas,

I can't help but feel we're having a language issue here.  (If there's
anything below that confuses you, please ask for clarification, because I
feel like I've been repeating this several times now, and I don't know
what I'm saying wrong.)

When I use the term "crosspost", I mean the act of posting the same
question to more than one mailing list at once.

The two addresses you've listed above are two distinct mailing lists.

   1.  The one we're on now is Python-tutor (tutor at python.org).

   2.  python-list at python.org is a gateway to the comp.lang.python
       general discussion newsgroup.

You have been missing the whole point when I asked you not to crosspost:
the main point is not topicality, but verbosity.  Your questions would fit
in both comp.lang.python and Python-Tutor.  But just choose one: don't ask
both at the same time.

Don't flood all possible avenues at once: if everyone did this, all of the
mailing lists would get clogged, and no one would be satisfied.  We're
trying to avoid a "tragedy of the commons" situation here.  The research
strategy you've been using to get answers, by flooding all channels for
help at once, is ineffective and, frankly, annoying.

And because everyone who helps here does so by free will --- this is not a
day job --- we must make sure things aren't annoying, or else helpers will
stop helping.  Again, I want to emphasize that we want to help you learn
how to program Python, and we are happy to get good questions from you.
But please change your behavior so that you are not the only one who
benefits.


See:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#forum

http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/ml-etiquette.html#SECTION00070000000000000000