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[Just another topic for the "What are we gonna have in SQLA 2.0 discussion...] In the discussion on his elaborate answer on this question, Mark has pointed out that the awaited NNTP import is planned to import all questions under a particular "NNTP" user. That's fine for me, as other possibilies (e.g. a mapping of "NNTP poster names" to SQLA users) seem to make the import process more difficult (and possibly "unfair") and as such would delay the process, and that would be bad. However, I would like a possibility to lateron "take ownership" of postings one has made via NNTP. Reasoning: Currently, I find it often difficult to search for NNTP postings I have made years ago (or that I have just read years ago), and sometimes one of the more sticking facts is the name of the person who was involved. For my own NNTP postings, I often use the "Sent Message" folder of the used NNTP client software. For other postings, it's more difficult. And in SQLA I often go back to postings others or me have made by looking in the according user's question/answer list. As such, I feel the notion of a "user" has more importance in SQLA than in the newsgroups (and that's one of the SQLA advantages, I think - it's a somewhat more "personalized" way of taking part...). Maybe this suggestion is moot, as a full-text search might be enough to find postings without connecting them to the particular users. But this is too early to know, and therefore I would like to ask if there are any plans to give SQLA users a chance to "map all postings to me that are done with the NNTP poster names MyName@MyWhatEver..." or do that on a one-by-one process. Note: I have no idea of a particular way to do so, and I'm aware that it mustn't require too much administrative efforts... |
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While I feel comfortable with Mark's response (i.e. no mapping) with respect to the search facility, I still think it's worthwhile to point out that the notions of user and ownership are important here. This is my point of view, so feel free to downvote, if you don't agree:) IMHO, the connection between postings and posters is much stronger here than in the newsgroups, and I think there's something of "one does know the others" as an important part of the community-building process. In SQLA, you can find out what folks have made public about their participation (projects, location, SA experience), and there's a lot of "commenting" taking place in the sense of sharing own's view or making some funny remark that wouldn't work that way in the newsgroups. Additionally, the possibility to upvote is an invitation to show interest in the contribution of others. In the end, it's about being (or becoming) a known part in the community and sharing one's experience. Though I think that reputation is not that important here, it's still an additional motivation when you recognize your contribution is seen positively by others - and don't forget that a certain amount is necessary for several actions. (And it typically takes months of active participation to get there...) This "becoming a known part" may not be of importance for the iAnywhere staff members, as they already have a certain inherent authority. And those who have participated here have typically gained reputation much faster then others, sometimes by just giving a few (but thorough) answers. - That's a fair deal, don't get me wrong, and I really appreciate this participation - but for "common users" the road is much longer... That being said, I think it would be fair to give those active NNTP users something like a "good start" by making it possible to take ownership of their postings (if they would like to, of course). This would treat SQLA and NNTP contents somewhat fair. Personally, I have focussed more and more on this site the last year. If I had chosen to focus on the NNTP groups instead and would then be invited to use SQLA 2, and would then have the feeling my further contributions are a kind of anonymous now (as they belong the "NNTP user") and wouldn't even take advantage of any upvotes they get, I guess I would feel somewhat disappointed. And on the other hand, upvoting NNTP articles would be less attractive if the "reputation" would go to an anonymous NNTP user. |
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There are no plans to map NNTP users to SQLA users. As you mention in the question, you should be able to find all of the news posting made by a particular user by simply searching for that person's "sender address". We have a database/web app that we have been using within iAnywhere for several years and this method works quite well. |