Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watcgl.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!watcgl!dmmartindale
From: dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.flame,net.religion,net.news.b
Subject: Re: What to do about all these "quotes" of articles
Message-ID: <858@watcgl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Dec-84 23:47:58 EST
Article-I.D.: watcgl.858
Posted: Wed Dec 26 23:47:58 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Dec-84 03:36:25 EST
References: <1308@eosp1.UUCP> <6730@brl-tgr.ARPA> <602@cbosgd.UUCP>
Reply-To: dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 20

As part of the process of installing 2.10.2 news at Waterloo, I modified
"postnews" so that when a followup was being posted, it would ask the
user if he/she wished to include the original article in the body of the
new message.  If the user says "no", then it doesn't get included, and
they don't have to go to the trouble of editing it out (and for about half
of the followups I post, I don't use any of the text of the original).
If the user says "yes", they have just been reminded that there is an
old article body sitting waiting for them to edit down - particularly
useful if they are not using a screen editor and thus won't automatically
see the text.

Perhaps this is a reasonable method of cutting down on garbage in
followups will still providing the ability to include the referenced
article wherever appropriate?

Now if only rn/Pnews could be convinced to do the same.  It goes to the
trouble to ask me if I really want to use the editor that I told it
to use via an environment variable, presumably in case I feel like using
a different editor right at this moment, but doesn't give me a choice
of whether the original article is included!  Arghh.