Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/04/07/08:57:50
>
>Great idea! But please keep in mind:
>
> 1) Somebody (you?) should maintain this database so it remains
>up-to-date, otherwise it won't be useful.
Well this is something that I have thought of, so I reckon that every 30
days or so a new release
is made, people will have to actively okay their inclusion on the list
e.g. a reminder letter would go
through to all on the list asking for new/updated/repeat entries.
>
> 2) The database should be extensively indexed to allow for fast
>and efficient search when the only thing people know is what functionality
>do they need. This usually takes a lot of effort.
Well database searches are a little out of the scope just yet ( until I
know the scale of the numbers of
projects involved... I hope to be suprised ), my ideal is to categorize
by subject type to start with...
>
> 3) You need to convince people search it, which is not as trivial
>as it may sound. For example, you can search the DJGPP mail archives
>*today* to look for announcements of software, but many people just post a
>question instead.
well this is true, but what can you do? companies selling commercial
products spend millions on marketing
and still only get a few percent of their prospective sales base, it
will be there, it can be used, it will be
advertised by a posting at least every 30 days e.g. the reminder to the
mail and news groups. Plus if
someone posts a question you will be able to really infuriate
"MyBigMouth" by pointing them to the list
in the same way that you point them to the FAQ. :-)
Rob Humphris
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