Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utcsrgv.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!dave
From: dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Gripe about the way people sign news articles
Message-ID: <1801@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Jul-83 13:12:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.1801
Posted: Wed Jul 20 13:12:41 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 20-Jul-83 13:52:41 EDT
Organization: CSRG, University of Toronto
Lines: 29

I really dislike the recent trend of putting eight-line signatures,
with addresses through every conceivable machine and on every
conceivable network, at the end of every article people post.
Surely most people have access to some path finding program like
nmail these days. I usually read news at 1200 baud, and it's a royal
pain to wade through the signature when it's longer than the article
itself (and I've already seen the same signature 100 times).

May I make two suggestions:

1. Do not give all kinds of paths unless it's important that people
   be able to reach you in reply to that article. If you're asking for
   information, fine; but not if you're just adding your three-line
   two-cents' worth to an ongoing discussion.

2. I would much rather see the name of the organization and/or city you
   are in than all the rest of the drivel. With the proliferation of sites
   I now often have no idea what part of the world people are in. I would
   prefer "Joe Smith, Denver" to "Joe Smith, {thismachine, thatmachine,
   someothermachine}!foo!bar!joe". If I want the path, I can always get
   it off the news headers anyway. Unless you're running 2.10 and all
   the information automatically goes into the header, the two things
   I won't get any other way are (1) who you are, and (2) where you
   are (and I don't mean where uucp can find you!).
	If 2.10 puts all that stuff in for you anyway, the best signature
   to add to your message is CONTROL-D.

Dave Sherman
Toronto