Re: Inactive mailing lists

Personally I vote for migration of mailing lists to Discuss. It has a =
modern WebUI with 0Auth for those who is unfamiliar with mailing lists, =
so it will alove to engage more new people + mailing list mode who =
prefer them.

> 27 =D0=BA=D0=B2=D1=96=D1=82. 2023=E2=80=AF=D1=80. =D0=BE 22:42 Joseph =
P. De Veaugh-Geiss <[email protected]> =D0=BD=D0=B0=D0=BF=D0=B8=D1=81=D0=B0=D0=
=B2(=D0=BB=D0=B0):
>=20
> Cross-posting to the relevant mailing lists.
>=20
> To discuss, please answer to [email protected]
>=20
> tl;dr There are several inactive or unused lists of the 181 mailing =
lists at KDE. What do we want to do with them?
>=20
> This is a post about inactive or unused mailing lists. For a general =
discussion about (active) mailing lists at KDE, please start a new =
thread or wait until I address that, likely in the very near future.
>=20
> _Inactive Mailing Lists_
>=20
> For a better understanding of what works and what needs improvement in =
KDE's internal communications, I started by looking at the 181 mailing =
lists publicly listed at:
>=20
>  https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/
>=20
> Here I see 51 mailing lists which might be considered inactive, some =
of which were never used at all. There may be more to add to this upon =
further inspection, but these seem like a good place to start.
>=20
> By inactive I mean there has been very low or no activity in the past =
2-3 years at least, and for most lists the last post was 4+ years ago. =
For several of these lists, there are long gaps in activity, often with =
no community responses to the most recent posts.
>=20
> The 51 mailing lists are included at the end of this email.
>=20
> Importantly, I know a list with infrequent activity is *not* the same =
as a list that has no activity. Some communities do not need regular =
communication for that community to be active. If you see your =
community's mailing list here and think it is a mistake, please let me =
know! My apologies in advance if this is the case.
>=20
> Crucially, do not interpret an inactive mailing list to mean a project =
is inactive. It only means the mailing list is not a frequently used =
channel of communication. There are many other channels for community =
discussion (e.g., Matrix, Discuss, etc.).
>=20
> _Some Questions To The KDE Community_
>=20
> * What do we want to do with inactive or unused mailing lists?
>=20
> * Is there a policy for retiring inactive lists? I didn't see anything =
at the Community Wiki. [1]
>=20
> * Does KDE have internal infrastructure to archive mailing lists for =
posterity? I see kwrite-devel [2] archived old posts at the "Mailing =
list ARChives" [3].
>=20
> * Do we want to nudge traffic from low activity mailing lists to =
somewhere with generally higher activity (specifically, I am thinking =
Discuss)? I can imagine being in a more active online space could =
increase general participation for otherwise low activity groups.
>=20
> _Inactive Lists: To Close Or Not To Close_
>=20
> I am sure there are reasons both for and against closing mailing =
lists. Here are just some reasons I can think of to close inactive ones:
>=20
> * The more communication channels there are, the more fractured KDE's =
communication is.
>=20
> * It may not be obvious to new (or even old) contributors that a list =
is no longer in use, resulting in wasted energy signing up for an =
inactive one.
>=20
> * Trying to engage with an inactive list may reduce motivation for =
futher contributions from members, especially when posts go unanswered.
>=20
> * Moving some communities to more lively platforms may increase their =
overall activity.
>=20
> * There could be a slight efficiency/ecological benefit for KDE's =
server infrastructure by removing or deactivating unused services.
>=20
> Pleae keep in mind: I am not judging the value of any particular group =
by pointing out low activity, or arguing we need to close any specific =
list. If there is a reason -- any reason at all -- to keep a list open, =
then let's keep it open! I myself like mailing lists for various forms =
of communication (announcements, long-form discussion, information which =
I want to archive locally for future reference, etc.).
>=20
> If I made any mistakes in my summary here, please let me know. It is a =
challenge to go through 181 lists and not make any errors, though I =
tried my best not to.
>=20
> I look forward to reading your thoughts and suggestions!
>=20
> Cheers,
> Joseph
>=20
> [1] https://community.kde.org/Infrastructure/Mailing-Lists
> [2] https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kwrite-devel
> [3] https://marc.info/
>=20
> # Overview
>=20
> Of the 181 mailing lists listed publicly, I found the following:
>=20
> * 12 are lists that have never been used and 1 was already closed
> * 27 are potentially-inactive general lists
> * 11 are potentially-inactive language or country-specific lists
>=20
> # Unused / Closed Mailing Lists [13 Lists]
>=20
> ## Never Used [12 lists] ("No messages have been posted to this list =
yet, so the archives are currently empty.")
>=20
> * Calligra-author: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/calligra-author
> * Cantor-bugs: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/cantor-bugs
> * Gcompris-espanol: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/gcompris-espanol
> * Kde-dashboard: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-dashboard
> * kde-games-bugs: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-games-bugs
> * Kde-i18n-it: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-i18n-it
> * Kde-l10n-my: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-l10n-my
> * Kde-l10n-sw: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-l10n-sw
> * KDE-Look: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-look
> * Kde-partnership: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-partnership
> * Kdepim-builds: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kdepim-builds
> * neon-bugs: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/neon-bugs
>=20
> ## Officially Closed [1 list]
>=20
> * kde-nonlinux: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-nonlinux
>=20
> # Inactive General Lists [27 lists]
>=20
> ## Currently Inactive With Almost No Previous Activity [5 lists]
>=20
> * kde-artists: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-artists
> * Heaptrack: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/heaptrack
> * CuteHMI: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/cutehmi
> * Khtml-cvs: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/khtml-cvs
> * Cki-attendees: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/cki-attendees
>=20
> ## Currently Inactive With Low Previous Activity [2 lists]
>=20
> * Snorenotify: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/snorenotify
> * KXStitch: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kxstitch
>=20
> ## Currently Inactive But Previously Active [16 lists]
>=20
> * Choquk-devel: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/choqok-devel
> * Kde-embedded: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-embedded
> * Kde-buildsystem: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-buildsystem
> * WikiToLearn: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitolearn
> * Marble-commits: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/marble-commits
> * Ksecretservice-devel: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/ksecretservice-devel
> * KDE-Telepathy: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-telepathy
> * Kde-speech: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-speech
> * Kexi: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kexi
> * Enterprise: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/enterprise
> * Marble: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/marble
> * kde-women: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-women
> * kde-usa: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usa
> * kopete-devel: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kopete-devel
> * Kde-scm-interest: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-scm-interest
> * Kexi-devel: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kexi-devel
>=20
> ## No Activity In 7+ Years [4 lists]
>=20
> * SymbolEditor: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/symboleditor
> * Gcompris-portugues: =
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/gcompris-portugues
> * kdelibs-bugs: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kdelibs-bugs
> * QmlWeb: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/qmlweb
>=20
> # Inactive Language/Country-Specific Mailing Lists [11 lists]
>=20
> ## Currently Inactive With Almost No Previous Activity [2 lists]
>=20
> * Kde-i18n-eu: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-i18n-eu
> * Kde-edu-pt_br: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-edu-pt_br
>=20
> ## Currently Inactive But Previously Active [5 lists]
>=20
> * Kde-i18n-uk: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-i18n-uk
> * KDE-india: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-india
> * Kde-l10n-in: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-l10n-in
> * Kde-latam: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-latam
> * Kde-l10n-kn: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-l10n-kn
>=20
> ## No Activity In 7+ Years [3 lists]
>=20
> * Kde-el: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-el
> * kde-mexico: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-mexico
> * Kde-l10n-si: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-l10n-si
>=20
> ## Infrequently Active [1 list]
>=20
> * KDE-Italia: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-italia
>=20
> --=20
> Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss
> KDE Internal Communications & KDE Eco Community Manager
> OpenPGP: 8FC5 4178 DC44 AD55 08E7 DF57 453E 5746 59A6 C06F
> Matrix: @joseph:kde.org
>=20
> Generally available Monday-Thursday from 10-16h CET/CEST. Outside of =
these times it may take a little longer for me to respond.
>=20
> KDE Eco: Building Energy-Efficient Free Software!
> Website: https://eco.kde.org
> Mastodon: @be4foss-ZvyNPa7Jd/[email protected]
>=20