I think we're going to have some difficulty coming to agreement
on these things.
With regard to the newbie forum, think of it this way: if you're a
newbie, and you really want to get a question answered, would
you ask in the newbie section, or in the experienced developer
section? I'd go for the experienced developer section any day.
I also don't like the division it creates in the developers. I think
we need to see the cross-fertilization going on.
That said, I do see a need for something better than what we
have now.
I put together a mockup of how my ideal version of the bboards
and the documenation. It's in this thread: https://openacs.org/bboard/q-and-
a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0004wL&topic_id=OpenACS&topic=
11 Make sure you click on the "navigation" link at some
point, and follow the * to see the valid links.
What I liked about this particular way of viewing the bboards is
that you could set up email alerts for only the types of messages
you were interested in (make sure you see the "navigation"
page.
I think we should focus on creating better documentation for new
users, and focus on making it as easy as possible for them to
be expert users. I would rather see some very easy intro guides
for users than a separate forum.
The reason this doesn't seem like such a great idea to me,
though, is that is reminds me of the problem set forums of old.
Those forums were maybe helpful for a few people, but it seems
like the real questions had to be asked on web/db to get an
answer.