On kernel mailing list behavior [LWN.net]

On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 18, 2013 23:20 UTC (Thu) by andresfreund (subscriber, #69562)
In reply to: On kernel mailing list behavior by PlayDough
Parent article: On kernel mailing list behavior

> In my experience, when posting on the LMKL, whether patches, questions, or general commentary the initial response to newcomers is usually either to be ignored or told to come back when they know more. This type of initial response turns people off. I'm an old internet fart and remember the days of usenet flamewars (both a flamer and a flamee), so perhaps I'm conditioned to this type of culture. But this isn't the usenet days, and the internet isn't limited to well educated and connected university folk.

I can definitely see where you're coming from. Although I think that's partially caused by trying to keep the volume of the list on the "nearly" side of "nearly unhandleable". If LKML would cater to the general audience it would have a multitude of the current traffic.

So stuff like kernelnewbies or distro specific channels exist to fill that ,rather big, niche.

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On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 19, 2013 14:44 UTC (Fri) by PlayDough (guest, #91822) [Link] (1 responses)

> I can definitely see where you're coming from. Although I think that's partially caused by trying to keep the volume of the list on the "nearly" side of "nearly unhandleable". If LKML would cater to the general audience it would have a multitude of the current traffic.

Sure, I get it. To keep LKML relevant, it helps to keep the clueless and the chatty off of the list.

> So stuff like kernelnewbies or distro specific channels exist to fill that ,rather big, niche.

I guess the issue is that area in between newbies and experts. Sorta where I fall. I've been tangentially involved with kernel drivers since the 0.99 days, but never waded in more than knee deep. I can figure out most of the issues that come up with our drivers. But when I have trouble figuring things out, #kernelnewbies is too basic (typical response is "Hmmm, try LKML") and LKML is to advanced ("Come back when you have more data.").

Perhaps a #kernelundergraduates? :)

On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 20, 2013 14:25 UTC (Sat) by Tobu (subscriber, #24111) [Link]

#kernelnewbies is also good for the undergraduate stuff. You're still learning, but you can also contribute some educated help. Some of the people who hang in there will probably like interacting with skilled learners.