OpenSSL project is considering to close this mailing list

[Michael Wojcik]

> From: openssl-users <openssl-users-bounces at openssl.org> On Behalf Of Tim Hudson
> Sent: Sunday, 19 March, 2023 15:21

> There is a lot more activity on GitHub and there is a high overlap in the types of items raised
> as issues and the openssl-users mailing list - and it is clear that at least a few of those on the
> openssl-users mailing list aren't participating in GitHub related activity - which means they are
> missing out on the majority of the activity that is happening in the developer community.

That is not, in itself, a compelling argument for terminating the mailing list. Clearly a number of people prefer the mailing list to GitHub.

> The volume of traffic on openssl-users is small

This is a bad thing?

> and the number of items raised for which there is no response or there is a response which
> doesn't answer the question is relatively high if you look over the mailing list responses.

I've been on openssl-users for a month shy of 23 years, and I don't believe that's true – for well-constructed questions. And, frankly, I don't particularly care about poorly-constructed questions, since learning how to ask good questions is a much more fundamental skill.

> the majority of the developer-contributing community is on GitHub and interacting

Unfortunately. That doesn't prove GitHub is a good mechanism, for this or any other purpose; only that it's (bafflingly) popular. Its popularity is not an argument for those who prefer the mailing list to switch to it.

> if you won't go to GitHub regularly and simply want to see things in email, then you should be
> watching GitHub issues as you are missing the majority of the interactions

While I haven't used it extensively or recently, in my experience GitHub's "watch" facility is a poor substitute for a proper mailing list.

> if you are responding to questions and you are not also responding on GitHub and would cease
> to contribute if openssl-users disappeared then please speak up

I already wrote as much in my first response to this topic. Whether my input is of value is a separate question, of course; but since you ask, I'm unlikely to participate in GitHub discussions. While I have a GitHub account, I rarely use it, and that's already more often than I'd like.

-- 
Michael Wojcik