[oclug] Defrobulators

[Patrick Smith]

Zac Sprackett wrote:
> A mailing list is a different beast.  If someone asks where he can find
> a defrobulator and I just happen to have exactly one to give away, I
> should be able to reply to the poster in an efficient manner.   I don't
> need to post to the list since the transaction has no bearing on anyone
> but us.  I'd go so far as to say that it is my duty to keep the traffic
> off of the list as it does nothing but waste peoples time.

The last bit isn't quite true.  Posting to the list lets other people 
with defrobulators know the request has been answered and there's no 
real need for them to add a response.  Plus, if the convention is to 
respond offlist, it can happen that everyone with a defrobulator figures 
someone else must have responded, and none of them responds.

I'm not sure how best to handle such situations.  Faced with one 
recently, I hesitated briefly and then posted on list -- 
http://oclug.on.ca/archives/oclug/2004-May/038982.html.