Thanks for the suggestion (and compliments) but I'd rather remain anonymous, as I'm simply an Average Joe End User who's just a wee bit anal-retentive and likes order. I also have a unique last name that anyone can pick out of the phone book, and I'm paranoid. I'm not going to worry about any reputation I might or might not build, 'cause I'm just a simple chick who knows what it's like to be a n00b. The people who have the answers are the ones who are important; I just want to give folks an easier path to them ;)
Some comments:
1. I really wonder about you being a Joe *and* a Lisa. What's that about? <grin>
2. Chicks can be gurus and teachers too, you know. Stick around long enough, focus on helping people with finding answers, and soon enough you actually *know* some answers and can provide them directly. Don't underestimate yourself.
3. My mother used to say that your reputation and your education are the only two things no one can take away. Perhaps you should be "Happy Lisa" or "Lisa the Destroyer" or any other uniquely-identifiable persona in your online activities. But you would not believe how thankful I am for the many times I have asked for help and received back a "yeah, I've seen you around the lists... what can I do you for?" I'm not all that useful, but just being around here for 8 or 9 years generates good karma.
4. No one around here is "important," and no one is indispensable. That's one of the beauties of open-source software and the open-source community: if something really has value, it simply refuses to die since someone else picks up the torch. It's also one of the reasons we have a fairly kind, tolerant community... we are not required to put up with a jackass simply because he or she is *the* knowledgeable, expert, irreplaceable jackass. <grin>
So thank you again for the effort to provide the common answers mail, allow me to wish you patience and dedication so that you may keep that effort going for a long time, and let me suggest that you slowly make it something to which others can also contribute and that gets sent out regularly even without your personal involvement. That way, even should you be forced to discontinue your personal efforts, you can leave the community a valuable legacy.
Surely plenty of people (including myself) would help you with that task and provide the necessary resources. Although I, for example, can't really help you code the thing, I *can* provide hosting for web/database/email/cron service such that your service continues to run even without you. Get someone else to code, authorize one or two other people to contribute items to the list, and you're off to the races.
Do whatever you please and do it whichever way you please... it's doing something that's important. Your energy and your creativity are what moves this community forward. Thank you for being one of the few who actively looks for a way to contribute to the collective benefit. Consider the reputation of "Lisa the Destroyer" already several large steps above that of most newbies. And keep up the good work!
Cheers,
-- Rodolfo J. Paiz rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.simpaticus.com
