Freenode #ubuntu* Channels are Too Fragmented, Over-specialised and "on-topic"

[Shlomi Fish]

Joel on Software has this to say about Forum fragmentation ( http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2004/09/03.html ) :

{{{{
In Usenet, whenever a single newsgroup got too large, it tended to fork. So from comp we got comp.sys.ibm.pc which split into smaller and smaller groups like the unloved comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video, created because people were sick of talking about video drivers on the main group.

I didn't like forks, because they make discussions less interesting. I mean, it's bad enough there's a comp.software.windows.nt.40.microsoft.notepad, does there have to be a comp.software.windows.nt.40.microsoft.notepad.helpfile.index? Seriously now.
}}}}

(
I should also note that according to http://web.archive.org/web/20070218073005/www.neo-tech.com/zero/part5.html , "Research in the fields of Biology and Anthropology reveals that all the species and tribes that became extinct did so because of overspecilisation".
)
A few days ago, I went to #ubuntu-women and had a friendly discussion with the people there. Then I decided to send this introduction which I wrote for some time:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-women/2008-June/001544.html

As a result, someone there has mis-quoted, mis-applied and mis-interpreted my post into believing I was "sexist" and a run-of-the-mill "troll", and so unsubscribed me. (after my first post) I logged on to Freenode in order to complain and to try to revert that irrational punishment, and this is what happened:

1. On #ubuntu , an op informed that it was off-topic there, and that I should address a more relevant channel, and shortly afterwards he devoiced me, while I intended to follow his request.

2. On #ubuntu-women, after I say "Hi all!" and said I wanted to discuss it, someone became an op and asked me to /part, which I did, reluctantly.

3. On #ubuntu-ops, where I tried to complain about her/him (I think it was a she), I was told to private-message someone, and then that I should leave the channel for maintenance, and the private-messsaging of this guy did not yield any benefit.

4. There didn't seem to be anything I could do on #ubuntu+1 , and I'd rather not have talked there.

---------------------

The problem as I see it is that the Freenode's #ubuntu* channels are:

1. Too fragmented.

2. Too over-specialised.

3. Too trying to stay on-topic.

4. Having too many short-tempered and abusive ops.

Please fix it. I still have the logs here.

Regards,

        Shlomi Fish

[James Westby (james-w)]

Hi,

I'm closing this bug as it is not a software bug in Ubuntu.

There are other channels for dealing with community issues
which you may wish to pursue.

Thanks,

James

[dotancohen (dotancohen)]

Thank you James. While I agree with closing this bug as Invalid (it certainly is not a software bug), then why is Bug #1 not closed as Invalid as well? It certainly is not a software bug either.

For reference:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1

[Dean Sas (dsas)]

dotancohen,

We have an established procedure for complaints about the people and groups in the community. In the first instance voice your complaints to the relevant team leaders, and if that bears no fruit, then follow up with the community council

[Shlomi Fish (shlomif-gmail)]

James, Dean Sas:

links, please! Where can I find the team leaders? This search - http://www.google.com/search?q=ubuntu%20%22team%20leaders%22 yields junk. I don't know who to turn to.

Or should I go directly to http://www.ubuntu.com/community/processes/council ?

Regards,

          Shlomi Fish

[Dean Sas (dsas)]

I'd suggest searching wiki.ubuntu.com for the IRC Team and ubuntu-women pages, the teams don't neccessarily have a leader or a "council" though.

[Myriam Schweingruber (myriam)]

Quote:
"A few days ago, I went to #ubuntu-women and had a friendly discussion with the people there. Then I decided to send this introduction which I wrote for some time:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-women/2008-June/001544.html

As a result, someone there has mis-quoted, mis-applied and mis-interpreted my post into believing I was "sexist" and a run-of-the-mill "troll", and so unsubscribed me. (after my first post)"

Well, the problem with Shlomi is that he trolls around in womens lists. He just has been kicked out of various Linuxchix-Lists because of his non-constructive and sexist behavior and only one week later he shows on in Ubuntu-women! Unfortunately for him, we Ubuntu-Women-member also hang around in other women-related lists and channels so Shlomi was easy enough to spot as the troll we already know from elsewhere. His introduction reads like a personal ad, but we are NOT a dating group! I suggest Shlomi should eventually read and sign the Code of Conduct before considering to join any Ubuntu-related list in the future. He can of course bring his complaint to the Community Council, but he is not a member of the Ubuntu community and has not contributed in any constructive way to Ubuntu or its derivatives, nor has he been harmed or offended by any member of the Ubuntu Community AFAIK.