Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!intercon!amanda@intercon.uu.net
From: amanda@intercon.uu.net (Amanda Walker)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: In Moderation
Message-ID: <1147@intercon.UUCP>
Date: 3 Jul 89 19:32:55 GMT
References: <8831@chinet.chi.il.us> <3300@epimass.EPI.COM> <197600001@inmet> <14403@bfmny0.UUCP> <3749@viscous.sco.COM> <24A91A67.28396@ateng.com> <3579@looking.on.ca>
Sender: news@intercon.UUCP
Reply-To: amanda@intercon.uu.net (Amanda Walker)
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation
Lines: 47

In article <8831@chinet.chi.il.us>, patrick@chinet.chi.il.us
(Patrick A. Townson) writes [about comp.dcom.telecom]:
> I do all editing, period.

Well, in the simplest possible terms, why?

I read comp.dcom.telecom, and I certainly appreciate the work you put into
it.  I don't come close to reading every article, though. Is this a problem?
If I use a kill file, or more to the point, something that functions in the
opposite way (a highlight file?) to help me select items of interest, is
that a problem?

I occasionally point out interesting articles to my coworkers who do not
read the group.  Is that a problem?  If my boss considered it a part of
my job to look for useful stuff on Usenet (including comp.dcom.telecom),
and thus paid for the time I spent doing so, would that be a problem?

If so, why, and if not, how is this qualitatively different from what
Geoff is offering?

To take the particular example of comp.dcom.telecom, I would greatly enjoy
only reading articles about data communications.  I couldn't care less
about COCOTS, or NPA codes, or any number of the things that are of 
evidently of great interest to a lot of your other readers.  Should I have
to wade through all of this in order to find occasional articles on things
like switched 56K service, fractional T1, and the like?  If not, what
does it matter if I do my filtering by means of a program or an external
service like Geoff's?  How is it different from, say, a newspaper clipping
service?

If I want to read everything, I can.  No one is stopping me.  If I don't,
how am I violating your prerogatives?

I'm sorry if I sound a little testy, but I'm quite serious.  So far most
of the arguments I've seen against Geoff so far seem to amount to "But
these are MY words!  Nobody else can touch them if I don't want them to!"

If that's how you feel, you shouldn't be putting them on Usenet.  Publish
a magazine column.  Do radio spots for NPR.  Whatever.  Some of the strengths
of freely accesible media are also "problems."  Lack of central control is
one of these.  Life's full of tradeoffs.

--
Amanda Walker
InterCon Systems Corporation
--
amanda@intercon.uu.net  |  ...!uunet!intercon!amanda