Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 UW 5/3/83; site uw-june
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!hogpc!houti!ariel!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!uw-june!gordon
From: gordon@uw-june.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.news.group
Subject: Re: Submitted for your approval: net.forsale
Message-ID: <1843@uw-june>
Date: Mon, 8-Oct-84 03:47:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: uw-june.1843
Posted: Mon Oct  8 03:47:44 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Oct-84 03:01:14 EDT
References: <550@sunybcs.UUCP> <5988@mcvax.UUCP> <10309@gatech.UUCP>
Organization: U of Washington Computer Science
Lines: 29

I'd rather we kept the newsgroup and distribution orthogonal, that is,
create net.forsale and rely on posters stopping the distribution down and
thereby keeping the net from being flooded with articles advertising used
ping pong paddles. Am I really that naive? Of course not. I also suggest
that postnews be munged to notice when something is being posted to
net.forsale and, if the user doesn't specify a distribution, issue a
warning and a list of local distributions, and give the user another
chance. Something like this:

   Subject: '75 Nova for sale
   Newsgroups (general): net.forsale
   Distribution (net.forsale):
     Are you sure that this item is of worldwide interest? If not,
     please use one of the following restricted distributions:
     uwcsa, uw, seattle, usa, na
   Distribution (net.forsale): seattle

As for how we're going to get people to install the new version of
postnews, that's easy. Whenever we see a lot of innapropriate postings
to net.forsale coming from one site, we flame the system administrator
of the offending site. In this case, the problem sites are a lot easier
to spot than with the line eater and other forwarding bugs.

Hmm, a similar trick might help the net.general situation...

--
Human:    Gordon Davisson
USnail:   5008 12th NE, Seattle, WA, 98105
UUCP:     {ihnp4,decvax,tektronix}!uw-beaver!uw-june!gordon