Noise-to-signal ratio

[fsflover]

Thank you for the reminder. In my view, this reason is the same fear that I mentioned. Yes, it might result in more work for moderators, but

0. you don’t have reliable data to prove that it will have a big effect;
1. the whole reason of moderator work is to bring new users, so it is a reasonable work;
2. currently, there are more than 2 moderators: we both can help and there are more Leaders and Regulars now.

[oijawyuh]

Allow me to add my small contribution to this conversation about the importance of this forum. I argue that this forum should be an integral part of Qubes OS “reasonably secure” approach. Qubes OS without accessible information is less reasonably secure. The Qubes website extensive documentation provide one part of the equation. This forum provides an essential and irreplaceable part.

Practically speaking, I described here on of my first problems with Qubes:

Edge of windows disappears every few months (XFCE)

Thank you @deeplow @adw @Plexus and @unman for your responses. If I am the only one known to have faced such a recurrent problem (while using a standard recent Lenovo Thinkpad), I admit that this is worrying. Also, I didn’t move to Qubes OS without a reason. Should an attacker be exploiting a zero-day in Qubes, I think he would have been able to steal from the vault gpg key, keepass database, as well as log-in credentials in the internet-connected VMs, while at the same time rendering my OS unus…

I had a problem that no one seems to have ever faced. My system was no longer bootable. Looking for a solution to save my data, I searched online using the words in front of me, and found on some forum instructions that did get Qubes operational again. I edited something way deep in the system via dracut pre-boot. Qubes OS booted and I’m convinced that the isolation was broken.

It could be that some Qubes OS exploits need multiple steps and require misleading the user into taking some of these steps.

All this to say that this forum would have given me a better answer to my problem than a post on a some forum on the Internet.

Thank you.

[fiftyfourthparallel]

Your post gives me the impression that you think the forum is under threat of being shut down. Is this true? If so, where did you get that impression?

[oijawyuh]

I don’t think the forum is under threat of being shut down. I felt like I wanted to add one point to the conversation that I view as important but that may have been off-topic, after a couple of years of using Qubes, and after more than a year on this forum.

[deeplow]

@Sven

@fiftyfourthparallel if I understand you correctly your theory is that some users have engaged in unnecessary low quality posting to reach level 3 faster in order to gain access to “All About Qubes”.

I disagree with this assertion. Getting to TL3 is not easy and I’m assuming very few users know about the “All Around Qubes” category.

If anything, opening up the “all around qubes” will add to the noise-to-signal ratio that this thread is trying to address. Not the other way around.

But one way to see is to check if the low quality posting users did make contributions to “all around Qubes” when they reached TL3. @Sven if you can demonstrate this, you hypothesis is thus verified. Otherwise I would be cautious with just accepting the your premise.

[ppc]

@deeplow

Getting to TL3 is not easy

it not as difficult as you think, the largest problem to get to tl3 is time, if you can surf and reply to topic ~ 8 → 12 hour per day (that a lot), you could get to tl3 in ~ 50 → 60 day (almost 2 month)

[Sven]

@deeplow:

@Sven if you can demonstrate this,

That would require naming persons I personally think made low-quality post in the past. I do not see any benefit in doing so.

you hypothesis is thus verified.

If you read carefully you will see that it’s not my hypothesis. After @fiftyfourthparallel pointed this out however, I do see this as possible explanation. Since this thread started I have not observed the behavior that provoked it. @ppc points out the math and proves it: joined Sep 12, has reached TL3.