Re: splitting comp.databases.oracle, a volunteer and a proposal

    (Note that I'm posting this as a c.d.o reader, _not_ as an Oracle employee. If Oracle has any opinions on this, They can post it Themselves,...)

In article <3h194e$jdd_at_crcnis3.unl.edu> nolan_at_helios.unl.edu writes:
]
] Steve Kinzler and I handled the creation of the rec.humor.oracle groups about
] four years ago.

    Ah, Oracle newsgroup creation experience! (Note to the folks at home: Different Oracle. Don't go there expecting any jokes about RDBMSes.)

[Suggested split:]
] comp.databases.oracle.announce (moderated, any moderator volunteers?)
] comp.databases.oracle.misc (including followups for c.d.o.announce)
] comp.databases.oracle.rdbms (for rdmbs, sql, PL/SQL issues)
] comp.databases.oracle.tools (for both Oracle and 3rd party tools, such
] as Forms, PowerBuilder, etc.)

    All of these sound necessary, to me.

    (As an aside, if c.d.o.misc gets created, c.d.o should get rmgrouped, just to keep a nice, clean hierarchy. Can you tell I work at a database company? ;-)

] comp.databases.oracle.help (obvious)
] comp.databases.oracle.beginner (also obvious)

    First, I don't think both should be created. First, no one will post to c.d.o.beginner if c.d.o.help is there. (Consider the newsgroups comp.unix and comp.unix.wizards: the former is dead and the second is overflowing with traffic because, hey, why post to comp.unix when you can get a _Wizard_!)

    Also, the division between the two will be questionable, especially to a new Usenet user. Is my question a "beginner" question, or am I just missing something? Is it the question that's "beginner" (i.e., something you should have known in the first two weeks); or the questioner (i.e., you've only been using it for two weeks)?

    And, I think that if the other groups above get created, a "help" group might be unnecessary: if I've got a question about SQL, I should be able to post it to c.d.o.rdbms; if it's about Oracle Context (which doesn't fit into any of the above), I can just post it to c.d.o.misc.

] comp.databases.oracle.jobs (obvious, too, especially for those who find
] all the job posts obnoxious)

    Hmmm,... as a "strict hierarchy" guy, I'd like to see a misc.jobs.offered.oracle newsgroup: these posts are not about Oracle, they're about jobs that may (or may not,...) require Oracle knowledge.

    But, then, if it were created, I'm not sure if folks would honor that hierarchy. So, a new c.d.o.jobs newsgroup might be the best compromise here.

] comp.databases.oracle.personal (needed based on recent traffic, my guess is
] that it will continue to generate many posts)

    Well, the kind of questions that get posted about Personal Oracle are either configuration issues (which are identical for the regular (impersonal? ;-) RDBMS); or they're about the Web page (which, since it's a lot more than the RDBMS, should go into c.d.o.misc or c.d.o, if it's still here).

] Based on traffic stats, I don't see a need for a separate group for CASE
] issues at this time. I could support separating Oracle and 3rd party
] tools into two groups, if others think it necessary.

    We might want, say c.d.o.3rd-party somewhere down the line. I think we should see how the traffic falls out before that, though: if we need more newsgroups, we can make them _later_.

• Bill K.

Bill Kaufman, | "Maybetheyhadaridiculousstatementtomakeaboutsomethingt wkaufman_at_us.oracle.com | heyhadntexperiencedPossiblySamhadadifferentopiniontha

                       |  tnobodyeverconsideredimportant."  -- the Meat Puppets