[wp-docs] IRC users list

[Podz]

Ryan Duff wrote:
> It has come to my attention that some people want to create a list of 
> IRC users on the codex. It has come up that users would have to be 
> asked, who would take care of it, etc.

I see Michael has created this, but I don't understand why the irc users 
didn't just do it anyway :)

> My facts, there's about 25-50 users in the forums and irc that are on 
> often and are very knowledgeable about wordpress. Nobody knows who's 
> trustworthy (as noted in http://wordpress.org/support/topic/37482).

Security issues as posted are thankfully rare. Had one of many other 
people got there first and said "send it to me" I and I'm sure others 
would have backed them.
The issue goes both ways too - when I do stuff for people, I have to be 
confident with them too.

> Ask the users, have users add their names, that way its their choice. 
> Delegate somebody who's in irc all the time to keep the page clean of 
> users who aren't often helping in irc or other such mediums. Instead of 
> editing a irc users page, how about creating a support page with a list 
> of people who can be trusted.

You will have people who will skip the forums and fire off emails to 
everyone on that list because no-one else on the planet has had this 
incredibly obscure "headers already sent" error.

Labels.
Labelling people as "the guy who knows rewrite rules" or "the guy who 
knows sql" is okay except:
- you increase the burden on them as people turn to them directly. Ever 
seen the posts in the forum with "Podz - help!!" ? I find those 
extremely embarrasing and it's also as good a signal as any to others 
that their answer is not wanted.
- let's say we don't have a "Rewrite rules" expert. We've just 
highlighted that to everyone haven't we ? Is that a good thing ? Did 
that just hang out the "Vacancy" sign ?
- and giving someone the label - what if they leave ?

Forums.
 > Another suggestion for the forums (when BBPress gets there) is to tag 
 > certain users as administrator or moderator either with or instead of 
 > "janitor prime" and "support maven" because new users don't know who 
  >  can be trusted and thats not clear to somebody that podz is a 
moderator and ryan boren is a dev. (bad cut/paste here)

Again you lead to people being targeted. This is not me being against 
such a move but I have been bombarded in the past by support requests by 
email and IM. Not just the odd one or two - many emails per day. That is 
a hurdle for the individual to get over.
It also implies that certain people cannot be trusted which is not the case.
The forum "staff" (for want of a better word) has always been kept 
small. Right now, excluding Matt and Ryan, it's Carthik, Skippy and 
myself. To 'promote' someone purely on the fact that they can be 
'trusted' seems fairly weak. The need in the forum for trustworthy 
people is far outweighed by the need for people who know what's what, 
where things are, a good amount of history and a willingness to go in 
there every day and answer the same questions over and over. That alone 
is good enough for me.
Clearer distinctions ? maybe, but then it's down to the individuals 
concerned to act consistently and honestly - I have never hidden the 
fact that I can't and don't code but it doesn't stop me finding someone 
who can.

As for a list, you may also have the typical effect that the person at 
the top gets lots of mail, the one at the bottom does not.

I would just create the list wherever, not limit it to #irc - because 
there are perfectly good people who do not use that medium - and have a 
very clear warning at the top - caveat emptor and suchlike. We also have 
to be crystal clear that ANYONE can add themselves. We can't start any 
sort of exclusivity club.

P.