procmail
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is this list only for the expert?

1996-12-28 15:41:05
Dear List:

Not to be critical of all the very fine work, but the procmail man page and
what I've seen on Alan Stebbens' E-Mail Software Page are not geared for
someone in my position.  They, like so much documentation out there, are
good as a reference for someone who already knows how to do it - and could
be used to get started after a very lengthy analysis and study of the mass
of technical information.


In the short week that I have been on this list, this is the second plea
for help, and the same one I could have written myself.  Etiquette has
prevented me from barging in before now, but the knowledge that this
list is NOT fullfilling the novices needs, has me echoing the above
comment.  No one bothered to even respond adequately to the first plea,
I am curious if all novices are being ignored until they go away.  I am
a novice -- just ask me to go and I promise to do so.

If there is no beginner FAQ, I would appreciate an explanation as to why
not?  There is no point in reinventing the wheel, or hampering this list
with the basics.  Is this a list for programmers only?  Do not
experienced list members feel like encouraging someone who knows little
about UNIX and perhaps less about Mail List Software? Or is it something
more fundamental (most programmers can't write a technical document
worth a shit).  Maybe it is just human nature at work.  It is easy to
forget the day when you knew nothing yourself.  The more one knows, the
less empathy the expert shows to the rank beginner. 

And perhaps more than anything it shows that the program is not
supported with a commercial backing and has no orientation on growing
it's base.  Drop by the l-soft site, http://www.listserv.net/, if
someone wants an idea of how to organize the obvious information.  I
would be happy to donate all the server space required if it would
encourage those of you who could, to start to contribute to a useful
website that could host this type of info.  The best so far seems to be
found at: http://www.jazzie.com/ii/faqs/archive/mail/filtering-faq/ and
Alan Stebbens' E-Mail Software Page, but neither has anything to offer
the novice or encourage them to use listproc software.  

I am willing to donate some time and money to advance the cause of good
software -- I'm just as willing to piss-off and take my business
elsewhere. No response to this message will be taken as a vote to
investigate the other mail list software options.

Scott Hirsch
ww(_at_)windworld(_dot_)com

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