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From: al@psivax.UUCP (Al Schwartz)
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d
Subject: Improving net.jokes
Message-ID: <630@psivax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 7-Aug-85 17:55:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: psivax.630
Posted: Wed Aug  7 17:55:38 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 12-Aug-85 22:25:22 EDT
Reply-To: al@psivax.UUCP (Al Schwartz)
Organization: Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA
Lines: 62

The following posting from Scott Turner was decoded from net.flame:
> Ok, that's it.  Let's get rid of net.jokes right now.  I've had it up
> to my eyeballs with vacuum-packed, papal-sucking net.weenies posting and
> reposting and reposting and reposting the bell-ringer joke, the Zen light
> bulb joke, the patio furniture joke, four thousand variations of the
> Ethiopian joke, jokes from Reader's Digest, jokes stolen from movies, jokes
> stolen from books, but most of all, unfunny, moronic non-jokes.  Ensign
> Benson's pathetic horoscopes were bad enough, but I *CANNOT* believe that
> anyone wants to wade through four hundred messages filled with priceless
> gems like ANIM8, LV2SKI, CAR4ME and on and on ad naseum.
> 
> I cannot believe someone out there thinks this is actually FUNNY!  Haven't
> you people ever heard a stand-up comedian, gone to Second City, seen a
> Marx Bros movie?  This isn't humor, this is *reverse evolution in action*.
> 
> WE ALL SEE PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.  WE DON'T NEED
> TO SEE THEM ON THE NET TOO.  THERE ISN'T A SINGLE CLEVER LICENSE PLATE IDEA
> THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN.  DO YOU UNDERSTAND?  REPEAT AFTER ME: I WON'T POST
> LICENSE PLATES TO THE NET.  I WON'T POST LICENSE PLATES TO THE NET.  NOT
> 
>     Scott R. Turner
>     UUCP:  ...!{cepu,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!srt

I agree with Scott here on some of the points.  The license plates aren't
really that funny (gee, I am guilty of posting some of those) and maybe the
YALP follies should be moved to net.games.trivia.

As far as the reposting of jokes is concerned, I don't see how it can be
avoided.  We will continue to see this:
"I'm new to the net and here's a joke I don't think you all
have heard before: (followed by the dreaded bell-ringer joke)".  I think
one improvement on the posting procedure for net.jokes should be:

	1. Write your joke first.
	2. Have at least 3 of you co-workers READ the joke.
	3. If the joke is funny to at least 2 out of 3 then post it.

Many times a long joke has been posted only to have the poster mess up the
punch line so badly that the joke is not funny.  This causes the net
nitpickers to come to the "rescue" and repost the joke with the corrected
punchline eventually boring the rest to death.  I think the above procedure
would cure this.

On the subject of stealing jokes from other places:  If the joke comes from
some obscure medium that you think most of the net hasn't seen, I think
it would be OK to post the joke.  But posting jokes from very popular movies,
TV shows and books should be limited.  Assume that the net consists of
informed and intelligent people.  Posting old, stolen or lame jokes will
insult their intelligence.  The judgement here remains with the poster.

I feel that net.jokes is an entertainment medium and should be viewed as a
transcript of a stand-up comedy act.  A constant stream of only the funniest
material will do.  Net.jokes has gotten cluttered lately with a lot of stuff
that would not make it though one minute of a stand-up act.  Take Scott's
advice here and think of yourself as being "on-stage" when you post your joke.
-- 
                  Al Schwartz
                  Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA 
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