Re: Email addresses in GNOME manuals...

[Telsa Gwynne <hobbit aloss ukuu org uk>]

On Thu, Jan 30, 2003 at 12:42:11AM +1100 or thereabouts, Malcolm Tredinnick wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 29, 2003 at 01:10:10PM +0000, Pat Costello wrote:
> [...]
> > > As you know, the current templates for GNOME online manuals include a
> > > section for the email address of the author. I'd like to suggest that we
> > > make this address optional in the templates. There are two reasons why
> > > I'm suggesting this, as follows:
> [...]
> > I have to echo Irene's comments. I've received some very dubious spam
> > via the email address that we have put into GNOME documentation. OK,
> > we can delete spam and no harm done, but it is irritating. I think
> > Irene's second point is potentially more serious. We have already
> > received several requests for technical support from GNOME users, via
> 
> I agree. I can't speak to the amount of extra spam generated from
> documents containing my email address (since posting to various GNOME
> lists increases that number greatly anyway), but I have had the problem

I can, because I used a different address on my docs which is not
this one. My word, it gets some rubbish. 

I'm also on the gnomefaq gnu org alias, and that gets far more
requests for tech support than it does feedback, broken links
mentions, or suggestions for extra wording. And I am generally
the wrong person for much of it. 

So I think both points are valid.

I think there does need to be an obvious way for people to respond,
but perhaps an address which is a mailing list with a really obvious
name like docs-feedback@ or docs-comments@ or even corrections@
would be better. It would have to be a really obvious "not a tech
support" name though. 

I know that I am wary of addresses when I don't know how many people
will read my scribbles or whether the comment is going to be public
and visible by others. But I don't know how common that is. 

Telsa