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From: jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Pardon me: Time for a Cathartic Flame
Message-ID: <1180@peora.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Jul-85 01:21:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: peora.1180
Posted: Wed Jul  3 01:21:39 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Jun-85 00:47:25 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Perkin-Elmer SDC, Orlando, Fl.
Lines: 76
Keywords: Human Error, Chuq, Catharsis, Humor, Hubris, Binky Bush, torus

I've always generally agreed with the person who wrote in here recently
that he'd written some of the Usenet software and so he felt that net.flame
was for catharsis.  I mean, heck, if I lived on the west coast instead of
the east coast, I probably would have written part of the Usenet software
too.*

Well, while I generally avoid nontechnical newsgroups (except for net.singles,
one of the few nontechnical newsgroups where people are nice to each other),
people who read my postings in these newsgroups have noted recently that I
have committed 2 or 3 errors in my postings, and even caused Chuq von
Rospatch to comment once.  This has been weighing heavily on my conscience
for several weeks, and combined with a private flame you wouldn't know of,
has led me to feel that it is TIME FOR A CATHARTIC FLAME about some things
in Usenet that really bother me.

So, herewith, all lumped into one, are all the things that really make me
angry in Usenet.

1) People who cross-post between net.flame and other serious newsgroups,
as if this somehow vindicates them for their use of strong language and
irrational statements.  The reason this is irritating is that then many
dozens of people "followup" on such an article without fixing up the cross
posting.

2) People who ask for information or advice, and then never say "thank you,"
and ESPECIALLY people who offer to post summaries, and then only post
comments that go along with their personal viewpoint.  In the past few weeks,
I have written very lengthy articles on (a) microwave oven features, (b)
low-cost music synthesizers, and (c) suggested names for rock bands, only
to have the person in every case completely omit any reference to my
comments [or even say "thank you"].  This strongly encourages bypassing
the "mail to me and I'll summarize" protocol.  I happen to feel strongly
that (a) the "Auto Sensor" feature of panasonic microwave ovens, (b) the
PAIA synthesizers, and (c) "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" are (a&b) good
products that deserve consideration, or (c) a humorous name for a rock band
in this era of names like "Bananarama".  The shortage of people who say
"thank you" has almost led me to implement a DBM-based "no thanks blacklist"
feature in our mail handler, to allow me to discover who I have sent mail
to and who hasn't said "thank you", so as not to waste my time writing them
any more long explanations of how frit-generative arming tamps work, or
other topics that took a lot of work to explain.

3) People who assume "all the world's a VAX".

4) People who post more than 4 lines of the parent article on followups.

5) And just in general, people who say bad things about negative-working
films, non-digital music, and musicians who aren't Kate Bush.  I never have
liked it when people assume some position just because it conveys some
image of their personal natures, kind of like being "part of an original
crowd," you know.  Oh.  Also people who use the phrase "Amateur Sociobiologi-
sts" make me see red for weeks.


There, now, I feel all better, and hopefully won't make any more erroneous
statements for awhile.

PS - it's ok with me if you use words for farm animals, or onomatapoetic
words for biological processes, in followups to this article, if it will
likewise give you an equal sense of catharsis.

-------------

*Of course, now I live right in the middle, or what they would call "The
Midwest" up there on the main continent, but that's just one of the
anomalies of living on a long thin piece of land.  Actually I've always
thought of the US as being sort of toroidial, in a metaphysical sense,
anyway.

-- 
Shyy-Anzr:  J. Eric Roskos
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