[gclist] Web hosts for the FAQ

[Mike Spertus]

> Mike Spertus wrote:
> 
> [...]
> > In general, I am a bit concerned about the emphasis of the FAQ. I don't think that
> > the lack of detailed technical information on GC algorithms is really what is holding
> > GC back. I think that the site should have a technical backbone but spend most
> > of its effort orienting people to a GC mindset (without being fluff) and then
> > have pointers to the GC paper repository, etc.
> [...]
> 
> I tend to disagree.  The people who're most likely to read the FAQ are
> those already considering either incorporating GC or using a GC'd language
> in their work/project/etc.  Yes, the FAQ should point out the advantages
> and address some of the myths-- but it should also provide a consolidated
> overview of the technology available (which I believe it is shaping up
> to do nicely).
>
I'm not against the overview of the technology, although I think it would
be hard to do better than Paul Wilson's paper. However, the people who
are considering whether to use GC are often most in need of getting the
myths addressed. Esp. when GC is coming more into the public eye like it
is now through the growth of Java, Smalltalk, The actions in the ANSI C++
committee and Bjarne Stroustrup's statements are also raising the profile
of GC. The commercialization of C/C++ GC such as ours including advertising 
and product reviews contributes to this as well. 

If the people who come to us looking for C++ GC are in any way representative
of the people who would look at the FAQ, I can guarantee that many more of
them want to know the answer to "Doesn't garbage collection just cover up
your errors rather than fix them?" than to "How does incremental collection
work?". In fact, when we promote C/C++ GC, people who call us with questions
about GC ask basic myth-oriented questions many times more frequently than
they ask technical questions (although they do ask both). I have no reason
to believe that our experience would not apply to the readership of the FAQ.