Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!oliveb!felix!dhw68k!bytebug
From: bytebug@dhw68k.cts.com (Roger L. Long)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Comp.binaries.mac moderation (FLAME)
Message-ID: <9634@dhw68k.cts.com>
Date: 12 Jul 88 15:30:07 GMT
References: <4927@husc6.harvard.edu>
Reply-To: bytebug@dhw68k.cts.com (Roger L. Long)
Organization: Wolfskill residence; Anaheim, CA (USA)
Lines: 105

In article <4927@husc6.harvard.edu> David Fry (fry@huma1.UUCP) flames:
|	I have been wondering lately about the selection of files that
|the  moderator of comp.binaries.mac, Roger Long, sends across the
|net.  But today I  saw the worst yet: is it really necessary to
|distribute a Perfectionist DA that  does nothing but change the
|file attributes of TEXT files so they can be opened  more simply
|with Word Perfect?  How many of us have Word Perfect, and how many
|of those are transferring files from a PC often enough to warrant
|such a program,  which does something that can be done with Word
|Perfect itself.

My job as moderator is not to decide what is important enough to post.
I leave that to the people who post software.  What I *do* do is try to
check out as much of the software as I can to verify that it at least
runs to some extent; verify as best I can that its not copyrighted, or
if it is, that permission is given to post; to package it in UseNet
sized chunks; and to post to the net at a rate to keep the volume at
"reasonable" levels.  The only time rating of the software occasionally
comes into play is when something I deem of some importance gets
posted, I'll often move it to the top of the queue.

Certainly, I don't expect all of what I post to be exciting and interesting
to everyone on the net.

|	Lately some of the programs coming across have even been
|accompanied by  apologies from their authors who are sorry they
|aren't more important.  If the  programmer himself says "sorry it
|doesn't do anything more yet" why are we  interested in seeing it?

If it's of no interest to you, hit the 'n' key.

|	I think of comp.binaries.mac as existing to dispense interesting
|and  useful programs to USENET users, programs which demonstrate a
|new technique or  an unusual idea.  It would be particularly nice
|if they have a scientific or  educational bent to them, since
|USENET goes to so many universities.  I can  certainly understand
|if the author of Perfectionist wanted to write his DA as a  simple
|exercise, or as a tool to do something special just for him, or
|just  because it was fun.  I write little programs all the time
|for those reasons.   But it is the moderator's job to weed them
|out.  

No, it's specifically *NOT* the moderator's job to weed out "uninteresting"
software.  One of the top concerns of people when mod.mac.binaries was
created was that moderation would remove software that they considered
useful.

|	At least we could expect source code for such little programs. 
|There's  no reason to comment more on the source code drought,
|though.  The weather  analogy in "drought" is appropriate, too:
|everyone complains but nobody does  anything about it.

Post source.

|	I can remember several programs from comp.binaries.mac that
|represent the  philosophy I have in mind.  1) A French prime
|factorization program was posted  over a year ago that
|implemented sophisticated techniques that I have never  seen on
|a micro before.  Admittedly it is useful to a limited number of
|people,  but it was state-of-the-art stuff. 2) MEdit was a free
|and ambitious text editor  from Europe that included a macro
|language, the first Mac editor to have one.   3) The P.S.B.U.
|program posted recently to do hard disk backups, using a 
|scripting language.  These programs were different from what you
|see on  CompuServe, extended what was currently available, and
|were written for  (apparently) altruistic reasons. 

I'm sure that there are plenty of people on the net who'd tell you
that these programs were of absolutely no interest to them, and that
I shouldn't have posted them.

|	The moderator may respond that nobody submits those type of
|programs any  more.

Since I post what I receive, you can deduce that nobody submits those
types of programs any more.

|		      I don't know what others are doing, but I
|have posted several versions of  my GrayView program (including
|the latest which has ImageStudio-like editing  features) and my
|DispPICT HyperCard XCMD that displays color images inside 
|HyperCard.  I don't mean to suggest these are special, but I don't
|understand  why they wouldn't be interesting to USENETers; they
|are completely free and do  things you can't do otherwise.  I
|humbily submitted them, but they never  appeared.

Well, if you didn't see them posted, then you should have sent me mail
and asked why.  I would have responded that your postings hadn't made
it here, and requested you repost, or mail them directly to me, and
suggested several possible mail routes.  I see no need to flame me,
since I do the best I can, on a totally volunteer basis.

|	I don't mean to attack Mr. Long personally, I'm just more and
|more  distressed at seeing "Part 3 of 8 GoofyMacGame".  Perhaps
|this message will  inspire more careful posting, or inspire more
|creative programming.  I also  don't mean to attack the author of
|Perfectionist; it was just that DA that set me off. 

|David Fry                               fry@huma1.harvard.EDU
|Department of Mathematics               fry@huma1.bitnet
|Harvard University                      ...!harvard!huma1!fry
|Cambridge, MA  02138            

-- 
	Roger L. Long
	dhw68k!bytebug