Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site bbncca.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!bbncca!rrizzo From: rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) Newsgroups: net.motss Subject: Re: Communication and NET.MOTSS Message-ID: <1528@bbncca.ARPA> Date: Thu, 15-Aug-85 09:58:56 EDT Article-I.D.: bbncca.1528 Posted: Thu Aug 15 09:58:56 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 18-Aug-85 02:00:46 EDT References: <656@sfmag.UUCP> Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma. Lines: 40 I was glad to see Owen Rowley's encouragement to contribute. My guess is that hundreds (thousands?) of people read net.motss, and that many are heterosexual. Here at BBN quite a few straight employees read it regularly, & some even contribute occasionally. Because of its topic, net.motss probably generates more curiosity than a lot of other Usenet newsgroups. In a cooperative open enterprise like Usenet, what results is only the sum of participants' contributions. If no one posts, nothing happens. If Owen wants to see the level of discussion improved in some way, he should by all means start an exchange of the kind he wants. I have to disagree with Owen's opinion of the Jason postings. I think they're substantive and address very real issues in a productive way (they're also funny). Long ago I disparaged the first Jason posting, mainly because of how I thought it would affect others' perception of net.motss. Now I think I was completely wrong in my judgment then, & consider the attitude of others toward something like net.motss to be a consideration almost not worth taking into account (or as an aged' quean once said to me, "Now, honey, if you waited for other people's approval before you did anything, you wouldn't have done some of the most worthwhile things you have, would you?"). (BTW, Ray, I've tried to send you mail, but my butter-fingers have never managed to type a valid pathway to you.) One last point: working in a homophobic environment poses a real problem for many potential posters. True, they can post anonymously through another Usenetter, & many large corporations like DEC and AT&T (I believe) have anti-discrimination clauses; but there's still some risk: upper management may be tolerant, but not one's coworkers and supervisors. And even if the objective risks are slight, over- coming the psychological barrier of the occupational closet is not easy, especially when it involves one's daily bread. Regards, Ron Rizzo "U.S. out of my pants!"