Hello Gretl uses,
I am new to Gretl and would like to provide a gentle critique from the perspective of a new user. I have been using Gretl for about two months and have just completed the econometrics of my first project done
exclusively using Gretl. Gretl has several strengths that make it one of the best econometric packages (commercial or open source) available:
1. Capabilities. At least in the realm of time series analysis (I do little with cross-section or panel), Gretl dominates competitors like Eviews or Stata
2. Ease of use. The scripting language, Hansel, is very intuitive for anyone with any programing knowledge. And much, much easier to master than that of Stata of Eviews. The language just makes sense.
3. Support. The responsiveness and helpfulness of users on the user listserv is incredible (second to none).
4. Access to the C source code.
As a new user, though, the greatest area for improvement is the documentation. As I have been learning the software, I have found that I have been forced to ask what seem to me to be pretty routine question.
All of which have received prompt and helpful responses. But I still have the sense that I am taking other uses valuable time to answer question that have probably already been asked. Searching the listserv archives is a good starting point, but I have found
finding the answer to my question, s.t. the answer is relevant to the current release of the software, difficult.
That said, the main Gretl developer are already preforming supper human feats of work by developing the software, answering question and writing documentation. Which is why I have found Trevor’s suggestion of
developing a stackexchange site so appealing. I am not yet capable of providing direct support of the software like the developers can, but I can help to create the a new FAQ that is more accessible for new users.
The bottom line is that I am sold on Gretl. I plan to use it going forward in both my teaching and research, and if I can help with the project, I am willing and I think there are a number of others who are too.
Logan Kelly
--
Logan J. Kelly, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Director, UWRF Center for Economic Research, http://www.uwrf.edu/cer
Section Editor, Global Business and Economics Review,
http://www.inderscience.com/gber
23 D South Hall
College of Business and Economics
University of Wisconsin - River Falls
410 S. Third Street
River Falls, WI 54022-5001
From: gretl-users-bounces@lists.wfu.edu [mailto:gretl-users-bounces@lists.wfu.edu]
On Behalf Of Trevor Zink
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 11:57 AM
To: gretl-users@lists.wfu.edu
Subject: [Gretl-users] GRETL users stackexchange site for more accessible exchange of knowledge
Hi gretl users,
In my Aug 22, 2012 post (here:
http://lists.wfu.edu/pipermail/gretl-users/2012-August/007948.html) I suggested that we look into switching to a format like stackexchange.com, where users can ask questions and the best answers get sorted to the top for later users to easily find information
they’re looking for. For a great example of a thriving stackexchange community, check out
http://tex.stackexchange.com.
The thread died out pretty fast, but I am hoping maybe that’s because everyone is busy and didn’t want to through the legwork of setting up a stackexchange site. It turns out that it’s extremely easy, so I did it myself.
You can visit it here:
http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/43782/gretl?referrer=H784Ua9YLHQ1Ef1WF8pECg2
The site will remain in this “area 51” limbo stage until it reaches 60 followers and 40 questions with a score of 10 or more. So when you visit the site, be sure to log in (you can use a Google, Yahoo, or any OpenID login) and click “follow”
on the left-hand side. I know there are many more than 60 people out there using GRETL, so let’s get the word out and soon we too will have a thriving Q&A community.
I took the liberty of posting a few recent questions from the mailing list so you can see how it works. Keep in mind the example questions are only question *titles*. Real questions could include long descriptions, example code,
images, links, etc. You can also post example questions of the sort you’d like to see discussed on the site.
I really think this is a valuable direction to take this knowledge community, and I hope you agree. See you there!
Trevor