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From: gds@mit-eddie.UUCP (Greg Skinner)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: How to save the net from overload
Message-ID: <2060@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Jun-84 11:50:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.2060
Posted: Wed Jun  6 11:50:04 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jun-84 08:14:28 EDT
References: <626@pyuxqq.UUCP>
Organization: MIT Lusers and Hosers Inc., Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 48

uname@pyuxqq.UUCP (Admin):
> The net is beginning to be swamped with the volume of messages.
> I notice several people are submitting multiple long messages
> to the same group.  Something should be done to cut down the
> number of submissions.

I agree in part, because there have been a number of articles I've read
lately which have exceeded 100 lines, but I don't think the following is
the correct way to solve the problem.

> I have a suggestion: I wish each system administrator (SA)
> would set up their machine(s) to truncate all messages > 24 lines,
> one screen full.  If they would do this, we would soon see short,
> to the point, messages from all these people that are afflicted
> with the verbage virus.  If the SA's would also disallow more
> than 1 msg/person/group/day, I think the volume of messages being
> sent over the net would greatly decrease.  Its time some action was
> taken against those with keyboard diarrhea, before some key net site
> pulls out altogether.

1.  It seems to me that such a policy could be construed by net users as
a "silencing" policy (I don't recall the correct term but it involves
freedom of speech).

2.  Some people post articles that exceed 24 lines (like in
net.sources).

3.  Other people post messages of technical content (like in
net.unix-wizards, net.mail, etc.) which exceed 24 lines.  

In general, it wouldn't be a good idea to limit message size, because of
the number of messages which have a good reason for being larger than
one screenful.

Perhaps Emily Post for Usenet should be amended to include good net
discipline in limiting the size of responses.

Note: I'm not an SA (yet), but give me time.  I'm sure when I am an SA
I'll have to make similar decisions regarding cost of phone calls, disk
space and the like, so I understand your concerns, but don't think those
are the correct measures to take.
-- 
                                                  Let fly the bits!

Greg Skinner (White Gold Wielder)
{decvax!genrad, eagle!mit-vax, whuxle, ihnp4}!mit-eddie!gds

And he who wields white wild magic gold is a paradox ...