That is an interesting proposition. We're in a phase of what I might coin the Functional Group Lifecycle where both signal and noise are diminishing, but the signal is falling off more rapidly than the noise due in part to its well-established archive:

Stage/Phase Status Delta Signal Delta Noise Signal-to-Noise Ratio Stage I New Slight Increase Negligible Increase High Stage II Fledgeling Moderate Increase Slight Increase High Stage III Young Large Increase Moderate Increase High Stage IV Glory Days Moderate Increase Large Increase Medium-Low Stage V Maintenance Mode Moderate Decrease Slight Decrease Medium-Low Stage VI Decline Moderate Decrease Moderate Decrease Medium Stage VII Life Support Large Decrease Large Decrease High

Coming up with a mechanism to improve the ability of a reader to distinguish the signal from the noise, rather than try in vain to correct the traffic distribution is, I have to say, a brilliant departure from the oft-failed futile efforts I've seen to date.

Proving (to me, anyway), once again, that it is The Conversation which is important, and that it must be encouraged, not discouraged.

How we got there, I suppose, is largely a secondary consideration.

Proving (to me, anyway), once again, that it is The Conversation which is important,

Agreed.

How we got there, I suppose, is largely a secondary consideration.

Necessity is mother of invention.

There's a nice cosy world in which necessities are predicted aforehand; discussed calmly and rationally; and addressed before they become imperative.

In my experience; that cosy world doesn't exist. Every single organisation I've ever had any knowledge of has always had to react to the now; no matter how hard they tried to cover off every eventuality.

And far more frequently than the 'nice world - nice people' advocates would want you to believe, it took someone to get angry before change occurred.

We have spam filters and ad-blockers and ex-directories and no cold-call lists because people got pissed off.

History is rife with (mostly far less trivial) examples of the need for 'righteous anger' in order to instigate change. Mostly because 'the authorities' at every level, rarely take a blind bit of notice of polite RFCs; they are easier to ignore than effect.

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With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

I'm with torvalds on this Agile (and TDD) debunked I told'em LLVM was the way to go. But did they listen!

Every single organisation I've every had any knowledge of has always had to react to the now; no matter how hard they tried to cover off every eventuality.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." ;-)

HTH,

planetscape