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From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP ( Chuqui Q. Koala )
Newsgroups: mod.singles,net.singles
Subject: first {mod,net}.singles reader survey results!
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Date: Sun, 23-Dec-84 17:03:53 EST
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Posted: Sun Dec 23 17:03:53 1984
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- - - mod.singles- - -          - - - Volume 1, Issue 26 - - -

These are the results of the first Usenet {net,mod}.singles readers survey.
Respons was, to put it mildly, amazing. I was expecting between 50 and 60
responses, I got 150. Because of that, I decided not to do some of the
things I'd hoped to do, such as add in specific comments from people. Many
people had some very interesting things to say that don't show up in the
raw figures below, but sheer volume made me cut this stuff out. Total
response on this came out to about half a megabyte of mail. My thanks to
everyone who took the time to respond to this, and to be as open as you
were about it.

chuq

---
How to read this survey: Editorial comments will be surrounded by square
brackets. The number of people who made a specific response is noted by the
number in parenthesis. Some questions I removed all responses that were
made only once to make the size of the article tolerable-- it seems that
there is at least one person on the net who likes something, but not
neccessarily two *grin*. If you have further questions or comments, feel
free drop me a line at ..!nsc!chuqui  or nsc!chuqui@decwrl.arpa.


1) what is your name?
	[ data not compiled-- for some reason every answer was different!]

	[many people also answered the questions 'what is your quest?' and
	 'what is your favorite color?'-- the search for the holy grail and
	 blue seemed to be the most popular answers]

2) sex
119 - male
 31 - female

[ yes was not an appropriate response. popular, but not appropriate. As
expected, there is a strong imbalance of bodies on the net, mainly because
the computer industry is still heavily male oriented. It isn't as bad as I
thought it might be, though]

3) Age
(male)	(female)
  6 	   1	- <20
 42 	  11	- 20-25
 38 	  11	- 26-30
 19 	   7	- 31-35
  9 	   0	- 36 - 40
  3 	   0	- >40

[ the youngest was in their mid-teens, the oldest in his 60's. The average
age seems to be about 23-24 for men, and 26-27 for women]

4) Profession
administrative assistant, cad/cam designer, communications tech
computer consultant, computer engineer, computer nerd
computer operator, computer scientist(3), design scientist
digital signal processing researcher, ee(2), electronic tech(2)
employee development, engineer(2), hardware design, human factors consultant
ic designer(2), manager, manager of software engineering, marketeer
mechanical engineer, member technical staff(4), military strategy analyst
model builder, professor, programmer(49), software consultant
software designer(4), software engineer(12), student consultant(3)
student(56), system administrator(5), system programmer(7), system support
system engineer(4), tech pubs manager, technical instructor, technical writer(3)
training, unix tinkerer, walking reference manual, world war one flying ace
writer

[many people had more than one thing they called themselves-- I used all of
them as applicable (especially for things like student/programmer). I
should have split out grad students separately, I think. Although it
doesn't show here, women seemed to be more likely to be in non-technical or
perepherally technical positions rather than hardcore programming]

5) Where do you live?
canada(8), east(30), midwest(32), northeast(26), northwest(14)
rocky mountains(2), south(4), southwest(5), west(29)

6) Where did you grow up?
australia, canada(8), east(25), germany, hawaii, india(2), midwest(25)
military brat(9), northeast(24), northwest(5), pacific northwest
rocky mountain, south(4), southwest(7), west(29)

[ my apologies to the canadians for pretending they don't exist-- this data
should have been split out much better than it was-- once I realized this I
was too far into it to go back and restart. Many people made comments such
as 'new jersey' or 'chicago' as their region, and it would have been
interesting (in retrospect) to not only look at where people live, but how
they view the area they live in (a number of people mentioned 'New York' as
being an area all to its own, for example). I punted canadian provinces
completely, unfortunately. sigh]

6) Current Status
attached(10), divorced(4), engaged(4), married(14), separated(4), single(107)

[It is interesting to see how people view themselves-- if you are divorced,
do you consider yourself divorced or single (again)? This can give you (and
me) a perspective on how you see yourself. As expected, the single group
dominated, for some reason. I probably should have broken it down in the
question to single/happy and single/dating single/attached, etc... because
some people commented they were happily single and some people commented
they were not so happily single-- it would have been interesting to break
down those as well...]

7) Sexual Preference (1 to 6)
1 [heterosexual](133)
2 (6)
3 (4)
6 [homosexual] (4)

[The numbers, for those that asked, are the Kinsey scale, used to rate
relative sexual preferences. I hadn't expected things to be quite as biased
towards string heterosexuality, but it may be that people are a little wary
to discuss that information on a public net with a relative stranger (or
even a chuqui, for that matter... *grin*). My thanks to those that did
overcome their hesitance to discuss this openly]

8) Do you read net.singles, mod.singles, or both?
both(93)
mod.singles(23)
net.singles(21)

[mod.singles is still an open issue whether or not it will really succeed.
we'll see. Most people are keeping an open mind on it]

9) What do you want to see in mod.singles?
anecdotes(4), avoiding boredom in a relationship, being single
dating(3), dealing with gender differences and prejudices
dealing with rejection(2), dealing with women
discussion of separations and divorce(2), economic aspects of relationships
finding and keeping love, finding compatible mates, friendships
friendships vs. love relationships, getting rid of stereotypes
how people arrived at self-acceptance, interpreting signals
joys of being single, life as a non-married(2)
marriage vs. living together, meeting new people(5)
meeting parents, meeting people, multiple relationships
new forms of entertainment, non-offensive humor, party notices
practical aspects of a relationship, psychological aspects of relationships
real day to day concerns, relating experiences, relating to people
relating to people as people, relationships and work
relationships at a distance, relationships(21), sharing experiences
short messages, shyness, sincere questions, single life(4)
singles experiences, singles issues, social typing, socializing
tactfully approaching MOTAS, understanding MOTOS viewpoints
understanding each other(2), unusual predicaments in relationships
where girls hang out, whether or not to live together

10) what don't you want to see in mod.singles?
abuse, abortion(16), ads, ann landers type discussions
anything that belongs in another group, birth control
computer generated drivel(5), condemnation of other lifestyles
creationism, drugs, dull discussions, endless repetition(8)
feminist intolerance, flaming(12), gay issues(2), grammar
homo/bi sexuality flames(2), homosexuality
how to pick up girls/ where to meet them, insults, interacial sex
judgements of others lifestyles, man/woman hating, marital aids(2)
married life/family life, married people issues, married people rubbing it in
media hype, mistreatment of the opposite sex, moral issues(2)
neuroses, non-single related postings, personality conflicts, politics(7)
rape(2), religion(22), sex, sexism, sexual preferences, sexual relationships
spillover from other groups(8), stuff that belongs in other groups
why doesn't my pickup line work

[These comments are just as valuable for net.singles, I think, and we
should keep them in mind when posting in the future. It is obvious that a
lot of people aren't interested in listening to topics that belong
elsewhere-- this includes abortion (net.abortion) religion (net.religion.?)
and the like. the intolerance of some people and the flaming that goes on
because of it is also a big downer to people. What I'm hearing is that the
readers want us to lower our voices and talk, not yell, and to be more
careeful about where we are posting things]

12) How often do you post?
bi-monthly(2), bi-weekly(3), continuously(2), daily(19), frequently
monthly(4), never(8), occasionally(68), once(3), rarely(4), seldom(3)
very rarely(6), weekly(23)

13) Who do you enjoy reading the most?
alan driscoll, ken arndt, beth mazur, chuq,  steve dyer, dave martindale
dick dunn, dr memory, dubuc, dunn, ed hall, ethan vishniac, evelyn leeper
gene spafford, greg skinner, greg wiliams, henry mensch, ian, jeff meyer
jeff richardson, jeff sargeant, jerry boyajian, john williams, judy macmullan
ken perlow, lady arwen, laura creighton, lauren weinstein, laurie sefton
leepers, lew mammel, lisa chabot,lynda feng, m. minsky, mark horton
mark leeper, mark weiser, mike huysbenz, moira mallison, moriarty
mvs, oz, patty, paul dubois, peter reiher, peter rowley, pooh
prentiss riddle, rabbit!jj, randy haskins, rich rosen, dennis ritchie
rob pike, ron rizzo, rsk the wombat, scott orshan, snoopy, sophie quigley
sunny kirsten, susan slusky, teddy baron, tim maroney, tim sevener
trb, woodstock, yehoyaqim shemtob martillo

[I decided there was no way of publishing the 'who you like least' section
without offending people on the list. It is fairly safe to say that a good
percentage of the people on the most list also made it on the least list
(myself included, of course) mainly, it seems, because the people you
respect the most or least are the ones who go out on a limb and either
stands up or falls over. Many of these people got multiple votes, but I
didn't want to turn this into a popularity contest-- everyone on the list
above got one (or more) votes from people who thought their words well far
enough above the average to be worth mentioning. I ignored people who
voted for themselves (although they were more likely to vote AGAINST
themselves... Everyone up there, take a bow]

14) Hobbies
ad&d(10) aikido(2) animals(2) animation(2) astronomy(4) audio technology(6)
backpacking(3) banjo(2) basketball(2) beer(2) bicycling(13)
bridge(5) canoeing(3) cars(8) caving(2) chess(8) chinese(2) choral singing(2)
climbing(2) comic books(6) computer games(2) computers(22) cooking (15)
crafts(2) cross country skiing(3) dancing(16) drinking(4) eating(4)
electronics(3) fencing(2) fishing(2) fitness(2) flying(2) food(4)
football(2) foreign languages(2) french(2) friends(3) frisbee(3)
games(2) gardening(7) girls(2) gliders(2) ham radio(4) hiking(13)
horses(3) martial arts(2) mathematics(2) model building(2) motorcycles(4)
motos(2) movies(23) music(48) needlepoint(2) outdoors(4) partying(2)
people watching(2) photography(17) piano(2) politics(3) programming(14)
punning(2) racquetball(5) reading(38) religion(4) restaurants(3)
rock climbing(3) rogue(4) roller skating(3) running(3) sailing(7)
sca(4) scuba diving(4) sewing(3) sex(5) sf(14) singing(4) skiing(19)
sleeping(2) soccer(2) softball(4) space program(2) spending money(2)
sports(11) swimming(5) tai chi(3) talking(5) tennis(3) theater(11)
travel(9) tv(4) usenet(3) vegetarian cooking(2) volleyball(7) walking(2)
wargames(2) wine(4) women(6) woodworking(3) writing(12)

[very widely dispersed-- the net seems to be interested in everything,
which is, of course, wonderful. things mentioned only once were removed for
brevity]

15) What tv do you watch?
60 minutes(11) a-team(5) basketball(3) bob newhart show (6) butterflies(2)
cable movies(5) cagney and lacey(7) call to glory(2) cheers(19) cnn(2)
cosby show(9) dallas(5) dave allen(2) david letterman(4) dr who(19)
family ties(2) football(10) frontline(2) frugal gourmet(3) hill street blues(35)
hockey(3) johnny carson(3) kate & allie(3) macneil/lehrer(3) magnum pi(6)
mash(8) masterpiece theater(4) monty python(10) movies(9) mtv(4) news(14)
night court(6) nova(10) pbs(17) prisoner(2) remington steele(6)
saturday night live(3) scarecrow & mrs. king(2) sesame street(3)
simon and simon(4) sports(5) st elsewhere(14) star trek(15) v(5)
wild-wild worlds of animals(2)

[ many peopler were proud to announce not owning a tv, or not watching--
both things I probably should have totaled. Many others watch tv, but
aren't entirely comfortable admitting to some of the things they watch
('this is junk, but... *blush*'). Usenet readers seem to really buck the
national trends in tv-- they watch less, and watch the thought provoking
tv. things mentioned only once were removed for brevity]

16) What are your favorite movies?
2001(18) adventure(3) airplane(3) alien(2) all that jazz(2) amadeus(3)
animal house(3) annie hall(2) apocalypse now(3) arsenic and old lace(2)
beckett(2) being there(4) big chill(8) blade runner(5) blazing saddles(2)
blues brothers(4) body heat(3) boy and his dog(2) brother from another planet(2)
buckaroo bonzai(4) caddyshack(3) casablanca(12) ce3k(2) choose me(2)
citizen kane(4) clint eastwood(4) clockwork orange(6) comedy(2) conan(5)
diva(5) doctor strangelove(8) dr zhivago(3) et(3) excalibur(2) fantasia(2)
ghostbusters(9) godfather(2) gods must be crazy(2) gone with the wind(5)
graduate(2) gregory's girl(2) gremlins(2) harold and maude(2) hitchcock(2)
its a wonderful life(3) james bond(2) john wayne(2) king of hearts(2)
knightriders(2) la cage aux folles(3) little big man(2) local hero(3)
manhatten(2) marx brothers films(3) mash(2) meaining of life(2)
monty python and the holy grail(11) officer and a gentleman(3)
ordinary people(5) philadelphia story(3) pink floyd: the wall(4)
pink panther(2) places in the heart(2) psycho(3) purple rain(3)
raiders of the lost ark(9) repo man(5) rocky horror picture show(3)
right stuff(2) risky business(4) road warrior(2) sf(2) silent running(3)
singing in the rain(3) sleuth(2) sophies choice(2) star trek 2(4) star trek(9)
star wars(17) sting(2) stunt man(5) terminator(3) thing (new version)(2)
three musketeers (recent version)(2) tootsie(2) touch of class(2)
wizard of oz(7) woody allen(5) world according to garp(3)
year of living dangerously(2)

[it seems that every movie in the world (including 'plan 9 from outer
space' got one vote, but there was a big variety of movies that stick out
in people's minds-- lots of current films, but a lot more of the classics
as well. usenet readers really seem to prefer the really good movies,
plots, good acting and scripts rather than schlock]

17) What are your favorite authors?
adams doug(2) anderson poul(4) antony piers(6) asimov isaac(8) bach richard(2)
barth john(2) blake william(2) bradbury ray(7) bradley marion zimmer(2)
breathed berke(2) brin dave(6) cherryh(4) christie agatha(3) clarke arthur c(17)
dickens charles(2) faulkner wm(2) francis dick(3) hardy thomas(3)
heinlein robert a(20) joyce james(3) kernighan brian(3) king stephen(5)
kurtz katherine(2) lawrence dh(2) leguin ursula k(7) lewis c s(2)
ludlum robert(5) mann thomas(2) matheson richard(2) mccaffery anne(6)
mcphee john(2) michener james(2) myers myers john(2) niven larry(12)
norton andre(2) potok chaim(3) rand ayn(5) ritchie dennis(2) robinson spider(2)
russel bertrand(2) sagan carl(2) sayers dorothy(2) sf(2) shakespeare(5)
silverberg  robert(4) steinbeck john(3) stout rex (3) thompson hunter s(4)
thoreau (2) tolkien(11) wolfe tom (3) zelazny roger(10)

[lots of sf, lots of fantasy, but a lot of others as well. Usenet people
read more, and read higher quality stuff, than the average demographics.
more books, less tv]

18) Political persuasion
apolitical(2) conservative(28) eclectic(2) independent(2) liberal(48)
libertarian(6) moderate(36) radical(3) socialist(2)

19) Political Party
democrat(48) independent(14) libertarian(4) republican(23)

[again apologies to the canadians, for ignoring their political setup.
sigh. a wide range of beliefs out there, tending towards the left a little,
but not too far. many people pointed out that they were registereed to a
specific party only because they wanted to vote a specific issue in a
primary]

20) Style of music
baroque(4) bluegrass(3) blues(25) c&w(15) christian(2) classical(76)
electronic(7) folk(28) hard rock(23) irish traditional(2)
jazz(60) new wave(8) progressive rock(5) r&b(2) reggae(3) renaissance(2)
rock(42) soft rock(45) swing(2) top 40(4) womens(2)

[lots of music, all over everywhere. a lot of serious music listeners out
there...]

21) Favorite (musical) groups
abelian(2) air supply(2) alabama(3) alan parsons(12) asia(2) bach(8)
beatles(21) beethoven(8) berliner philharmoniker(2) billy joel(6)
blondie(2) blue oyster cult(2) bob marley & the wailers(3) bob segar(2)
boston(5) bowie(4) brahms(2) brian eno(3) bruce springsteen(4) cars(8)
chicago(2) chick corea(3) copeland(2) cream(2) crosby stills and nash(3)
crosby, stills, nash & young(2) def leppard(2) devo(2) doors(4) eagles(4)
electric light orchestra(3) emerson lake and palmer(6) elton john(3)
elvis costello(4) english beat(2) fleetwood mac(2) genesis(3) james taylor(3)
joe jackson(2) laura brannigan(2) lionel ritchie(2) mannheim steamroller(2)
mozart(4) pat metheny(2) rickie lee jones(3) simon & garfunkel(2)
spyro gyra(8) steeleye span(4) stones(5) talking heads(4) who(2) yes(2)

-- 
From behind the bar:		Chuq Von Rospach
{allegra,cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui  nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA

Deadbone erotica is the prickly panic of forgotten milleniums, it is the moldy 
billion year madness that creeps deep along the spinal behind of my mind.