I've been following the discussion about the useage of non-stata packages for stata output. I am reminded of the hoo-hah that accompanied the use of Bringin.ado in version 3.1 ... you got the distinct impression from certain parts (hardcore statisticians for the most part) that the the devil was subverting Stata. (For those of you who haven't been using stata that long, the USE command was severly limited in earlier versions. On large datasets, you had to re-configure the memory yourself by using F5 and F4. Bringin simply automated that task so that it could be done under program control.)
As far as the clogging up of the statalist goes, I think Mr. Blasnick is probably correct. The solution would be to have a Stata forum where the various types of questions could be directed. One example of such a forum is http://www.vbforums.com/ such a breakdown would be the answer to people not falling all over themselves when picking thru the questions. I know that myself, I have no business answering any of the statistical questions, but I can sometimes help with the management and programming.
If someone (with more time than I) is interested in setting up such an animal, I'd be willing to put in some $$$ for the upfront costs.
[email protected]
*
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
