Re: Are the number of posts to comp.databases.oracle.server dropping off ?

From: DA Morgan <damorgan_at_psoug.org>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:14:38 -0700
Message-ID: <1207952076.628288@bubbleator.drizzle.com>


joel garry wrote:
> On Apr 10, 9:39 am, Mark D Powell <Mark.Pow..._at_eds.com> wrote:

>> On Apr 10, 6:29 am, Barry Bulsara <bbulsar..._at_hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Hi, the last few years have seen a notable decrease in the number of
>>> posts to comp.databases.oracle.server (cdos)
>>> Seehttp://groups.google.com/group/comp.databases.oracle.server/about
>>> I am really surprised given the increasing and numerous terse
>>> impromptu posts from some of the more active regular members of this
>>> group (normally about spam, marketplace posts, bad design, or lacking
>>> a version number). Perhaps "omlet", arghhh don't mention his name, was
>>> responsible for the all-time posting highs!
>>> Why are the number of posts to this newsgroup dropping off.
>>> 1. Is is the anal behaviour of some members that are scaring others/
>>> new members off
>>> 2. Is is that current versions of Oracle and current developers/dba's
>>> require less help
>>> 3. Is is that posters are using newsgroups other than cdos
>>> 4. Is is that the Google stats wrong
>>> 5. Something else
>>> I appreciate it is more about quality than quantity but the quality of
>>> response in cdos doesn't seem to be improving either.
>>> Regards
>>> David
>> Actually I would say activity on the comp.databases.oracle.*
>> newsgroups is higher recently than it was a year ago.
>>
>> Still activity is no where near where it was back in the mid 90's.
>>
>> Metalink and OTN have both been introduced since then and there are
>> other forum sites.
>>
>> IMHO -- Mark D Powell ---

>
> I think a lot of the high counts came from flame wars that moved to
> other modalities. Some of them were interesting and informative for
> flame wars, much better than the trolls Noons referred to. Others,
> well...
>
> There is perhaps some fragmentation of community due to leading edge
> geeks doing the web 2.0 thing. We've gone from splitting up cdo into
> cdo.* to communities, blogs, forums, wiki's and so on. Most usenet
> groups have had varying levels of use over time, some even showing a
> life-cycle including death. A group needs a certain level of use or
> it will die. Oracle is a big enough subject this group probably has a
> lot of life left in it. I'm still wondering why there's been no apps
> equivalent on usenet, that has a larger population. I guess with the
> other modalities there never will be one now.
>
> Not that there wasn't fidonet, listserves and C$erve... :-)
>
> Some old-tyme BBS's required one to pass various tests to be allowed
> into the in-crowd. Perhaps there are members-only networks now. :-)
>
> jg
> --
> @home.com is bogus.
> http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/groucho_marx.html

A lot of people have grown tired of the level of discourse here and moved on. I check back once a day but spend most of my time in the OTN forums.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
Oracle Ace Director & Instructor
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
Puget Sound Oracle Users Group
www.psoug.org
Received on Fri Apr 11 2008 - 17:14:38 CDT

Original text of this message