Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!apple!chuq
From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: The Dynamics of Debate on USENET
Message-ID: <35149@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 30 Sep 89 19:45:14 GMT
References: <822@swbatl.UUCP> <265@dbase.UUCP>
Organization: Life is just a Fantasy novel played for keeps
Lines: 34

>Everyone here in news.admin seems to agree with these guidelines of socially 
>acceptable USENET behavior, but how do you 1) make all net-posters aware 
>of these guidelines, and 2) make them follow these guidelines.

1) You don't. 2) You don't. 

Educational activities on USENET in the past have generally been considered
failures. They do reach out and help some people, but there's no way to make
people either read the materials or pay attention to them. 

About all you can do is try to get the message across. You do this by peer
group pressure, by writing articles on how to do things (and how to not do
them) and by setting examples for people to follow. You can't force people
to be nice on USENET. You can, however, convince most of them -- it's like
potty training. Give them a good enough reason and they won't forget it very
often.

There are no global solutions. I try to hold myself up as an example of how
a person on USENET ought to ask -- and, I shall point out, I don't always
stand up to my own ideals. I do try, though. I also try to work with people
on the net that ask for help and seem to be trying to figure out this morass
of conflicting data we call a network -- and when something comes up that I
think is the basis for an interesting and useful discussion, I write it up
and post it.

You can't solve all of USENET's problems. But you can work on them, one
problem at a time; one person at a time. Every little bit helps a little.

-- 

Chuq Von Rospach <+> Editor,OtherRealms <+> Member SFWA/ASFA
chuq@apple.com <+> CI$: 73317,635 <+> [This is myself speaking]

I was a Kings fan before it was politically correct. NHL to San Jose!