* Julie <ju***@nospam.com> schriebt:
"Alf P. Steinbach" wrote:
[snip] Also, perhaps what's regarded as on-topic here should be loosened up a bit.
Funny thing is that since this newsgroup doesn't have a charter, there really
isn't a notion of on or off topic here...
The FAQ ain't it, either.
First things first, let's get a charter for the newsgroup.
Well, I'm not sure of the technicalities of retrofitting a charter, but in
principle I agree with you -- the infamous "someone" should do this!
The FAQ as well as the monthly posting should of course include the charter,
when and if it gets written and passes voting (caveat: procedure for that?).
A good place to start might be the [comp.lang.c++.moderated] charter, e.g. at
<url:
ftp://ftp.isc.org/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/comp/comp.lang.c++.moderated>:
<CLC++M CHARTER>
comp.lang.c++.moderated is a moderated news group for discussion of common
C++ programming issues. Welcomed topics of discussion will include any topic
directly related to the C++ programming language. The moderators will decide
which posts are of general interest to the worldwide C++ community. The
moderators are free to reject any post which is deemed to be system-specific,
covered by the comp.lang.c++ FAQ(s), and/or more appropriate to another
Usenet discussion group. The following is a short list of posts which
will be considered off-topic by the moderators.
- System-specific problems which are better addressed in existing
system-specific newsgroups may be considered off-topic. (Here we
are using the term "system-specific" in reference to a particular
computer system configuration.)
- Questions answered in the comp.lang.c++ FAQ(s) will be considered
off-topic.
- Obvious homework problems and trivial questions that can be answered by
quick inspection of any C++ text may be considered off-topic.
- Very broad questions which could equally apply to any computer programming
language may be considered off-topic.
- Advocacy and "flame wars" about C++ will be considered off-topic.
- Advertising shall be considered off-topic.
- C++ product announcements shall be at the discretion of the
moderators.
Overall, the moderators shall lean towards accepting posts and the free
exchange of ideas and general discussion of C++ issues.
</CLC++M CHARTER>
What's a bit lacking here, in my opinion, is topicality of library-specific
problems. A library may be system independent (such as Boost), or very widely
used. But there is a difference discussing the use of e.g. boost::shared_ptr
for pimpl idiom, and on the other hand "how do I implement Tiny Basic using
Boost Spirit?" -- which I'd regard as off-topic no matter Boost or not. In
short there must be some general C++ relevance, not just a C++ association.
The charter says any topic directly related to the C++ language is welcomed,
but it doesn't say any topic only vaguely associated to C++ is unwelcome.
Also, there is the question of actually using C++ for those tasks the language
is intended for.
For example, currently the use of C++ to provide bindings for other languages,
such as Java JNI, is off-topic in just about any group except
[comp.programming], but I think such actual practice should be on-topic here.
--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?