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From: jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow)
Newsgroups: net.news,net.followup
Subject: Re: net overload-- comments and suggestions
Message-ID: <5160@tekecs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 3-Mar-85 16:12:57 EST
Article-I.D.: tekecs.5160
Posted: Sun Mar  3 16:12:57 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 6-Mar-85 03:06:16 EST
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> I have been slowling abandoning the net, but I really don't think
> that the reasons are the ones that Chuq advances.  It's my feeling
> that the SNR (signal to noise ratio) of the net is slowly sinking
> to zero, and the utility is following accordlingly.  
> 
Perhaps what you see is simply that, as the net includes more people, it
includes more people more different from you than before, so you (and each
individual) finds less of the total to be interesting. This may be a technical
or political problem, but it is not bad per se. 
> [...]	
> 	In the time I've been on the net, I've seen it grow from 
> 100 people on 20 machines, each talking to the whole audience,
> and engaging in dialog, to
> 	Several thousand people on 100+- machines, using newsgroups
> and such to engage in dialog, to
> 	A few more thousand people, on a few more machines, calling
> each other names, and engaging in libel/slander of all sorts,
> to emotional effect.  I include here the birth of the net sophist,
> rhetorical cheater, and the like, to
> 	About 10000 people, a good number of them shouting
> at the top of their lungs, and nobody listening.
> 
> 	What does it show? 
> 
> 	It shows that the net is nothing but a collection of the 
> people ON the net.  The current crop (with significant exceptions)
> is disputatous, rude, and intolerant of any sort of
> moderate behavior (I almost said moderation. I know better!).
> 
I would contend that is an illusion caused by the fact that disputatiousness,
rudeness, and intolerance are more eye-catching (mind-catching?) than sober,
common-sense behavior (whatever one defines that to be).

The net is (to me) a peculiar cross between private communication and
performance. It is the performance aspect (the separation of performer
and audience helps) which tempts people to be disputatious and rude,
and to do it with such infuriating elan. At least, that is what has
tempted me on occasion - like jj, I've contributed my share. I don't see
how that temptation can be reasonably removed.

I'm not sure how this helps the overload problem - in fact, the very existence
of this discussion so far may have done just the opposite.

						Jeff Winslow
						(just a joe user)