Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site cbosgd.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!cbosgd!mark From: mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) Newsgroups: net.news Subject: Re: Re: Welcome to Usenet 1984 (Chuq's reply) Message-ID: <447@cbosgd.UUCP> Date: Mon, 29-Oct-84 20:56:41 EST Article-I.D.: cbosgd.447 Posted: Mon Oct 29 20:56:41 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 30-Oct-84 01:49:01 EST References: <1622@nsc.UUCP> <229@bragvax.UUCP> Reply-To: mark@cbpavo.UUCP (Mark Horton) Organization: Bell Labs, Columbus Lines: 32 OK, I see I was misunderstood. Let me spell it out in detail. If you see someone doing something you feel is inappropriate in public (e.g. on the net,) first send them mail, POLITELY asking them not to do that. You probably won't be the only one. In fact, the person will probably get lots of unpolite mail, so try to make yours the one that says what it must but is polite enough to stand apart from the crowd. If the behavior continues or the one posting was so horrible that some followup action is required, complain to the Usenet contact for the machine in question. Send a carbon copy of the complaint to me. If, and only if, this does not solve the problem, I or someone I appoint will contact the person's boss. This is a LAST RESORT but sometimes it's the only resort left. (For example, the person might be the local Usenet contact, or the Usenet contact may lack authority to require the offender to comply.) In almost all cases, the desired result is that the person stop posting whatever messages are causing the problem. Only in extreme cases (e.g. the AA complaint) is a public apology in order. It is never the goal to get the person fired, and it hasn't happened yet. A word to the Usenet contact is usually enough to take care of the problem, so bringing in the boss is a very rare occurrence. (I'd guess once or twice a year.) In many circumstances, when it's gotten to this level, other innocent people lose netnews, so this is never desireable. By the way, for those who feel this places too much power in my hands, I'll be happy to appoint someone else the net trusts. Mark Horton