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From: brian@sdccsu3.UUCP (Brian Kantor)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: nuke net.general?
Message-ID: <1951@sdccsu3.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Jun-84 10:58:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdccsu3.1951
Posted: Wed Jun 20 10:58:50 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Jun-84 04:11:30 EDT
References: <32@cbosgd.UUCP>
Organization: UCSD beer & pizza society
Lines: 45

x

It seems to me that the controversy regarding net.general is due in a
large part to the misconception of many users as to its purpose.  It is
easy (in retrospect) to see that the name 'general' can easily be
interpreted in at least two ways: 'general interest' and 'general subject
matter'.  

Specifically, that people misunderstand the title 'general' is 
insufficient reason for deleting the newsgroup; something more in the 
way of justification is needed.  

Net.misc was created for the express purpose of taking articles
that didn't really have a home anywhere else, but when it is NOT
INTUITIVELY OBVIOUS that one should use net.misc instead of net.general
then there is a question as to the appropriateness of the title vs its
'intended' usage.

Yes, there are netiquette articles explaining what newsgroups to use,
when not to use net.general, when to use net.misc, etc.  As any of you
who have to deal with users in the real world know, few users read the
instructions, fewer still understand them, and only a small number
actually obey them.  In a network as undisciplined as this one, it is
surprising that net.general works as well as it does.

No, I'm not fond of reading lots of messages that don't apply to me in
any way.  But I don't believe that the situation will change by simply
nuking net.general.  We must FIRST devise a substitute, intuitively 
obvious to the greatest number of people, that is a newsgroup
expressly for those items of very widespread interest.  After that is
established, net.general can be nuked and net.misc will take its
rightful place as the catchall newsgroup.

I don't have a suggestion for the title of the newsgroup.  Or rather, I
have several, none of which is satisfactory.  Lets discuss it here and
see what we can come up with?

-- 
	-Brian Kantor, UC San Diego 
	
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