Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utcsri.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!mason From: mason@utcsri.UUCP (Dave Mason) Newsgroups: net.news.group Subject: Re: A modest proposal (and net.sources) Message-ID: <1418@utcsri.UUCP> Date: Sat, 21-Sep-85 16:31:03 EDT Article-I.D.: utcsri.1418 Posted: Sat Sep 21 16:31:03 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 21-Sep-85 16:42:28 EDT References: <3261@pur-ee.UUCP> <2143@ukma.UUCP> Reply-To: mason@utcsri.UUCP (Dave mason) Organization: University of Toronto/Ryerson Polytechnic Institute Lines: 60 Summary: monitoring already happens / need net.sources.d? In article <2143@ukma.UUCP> david@ukma.UUCP (David Herron, NPR Lover) writes: >In article <3261@pur-ee.UUCP> mazina@pur-ee.UUCP (Der Kaiser) writes: >... >> A monitor for each group. >... >[With these duties: ] >> 1) Read ALL the articles posted. (In net.flame, a BIG job) >> 2) Mail warnings to inappropriate posters. >> 3) If a poster repeatedly ignores warnings (3 or more?), >> mail a note to their system site administrator, requesting >> action. I think this is already done, at least informally, and I'm not sure we really need/want official monitors. > >.... There's only one duty I'd like >to add: > 4) monthly/biweekly/weekly posting of "proper etiquette" > for that newsgroup. I think Laura's idea of permanent articles is a better approach. > >At any rate, here's a possible posting I came up with for net.sources. >(This is a slightly changed net.sources that understands what is happening >with net.sources with it moving towards mod.sources). > >Purpose: Net.sources is for postings related to program sources > which have been posted to the network. > >1. For postings of sources, send them to the mod.sources > moderator, John Nelson (john@genrad.UUCP). >2. Be warned that posting sources here may get you flamed. Also, you This is not the right approach, I don't think. mod.sources serves a useful purpose, but so does net.sources. Some things are not really of sufficient importance for the moderator to post them. There are those of us who still like the free-for-all atmosphere of this net, while trying to keep our heads above the flood. I agree that net.sources is becoming next to useless, but I suggest other solutions. I suggest that the postnews software be changed to know a little about new groups, and: 1) if there is a newsgroup.d, the Followup-to field for a message to newsgroup should be filled in with newsgroup.d. This is already what is supposed to happen in net.jokes & net.jokes.d; I think it could well apply to net.sources. 2) if net.sources is included in a distribution list, other groups should be discouraged or disallowed. I was recently guilty of including net.sources in a distribution list, which I did because I wasn't sure of the readership in net.wanted.sources (and everybody else was posting junk to net.sources...why not me :-). A monitor of that group mailed me a (fairly) polite note asking me not to do that, and having thought about it, I wouldn't do it again. I think a message from postnews would have had the same effect. The other approach is to get rid of newsgroups completely, and use keywords (or something), as is being discussed in net.news.notes. -- Usenet: {dalcs dciem garfield musocs qucis sask titan trigraph ubc-vision utzoo watmath allegra cornell decvax decwrl ihnp4 uw-beaver} !utcsri!mason Dave Mason, U. Toronto CSRI CSNET: mason@Toronto ARPA: mason%Toronto@CSNet-Relay