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From: jack@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Re: Signature lines, this is going too far!
Message-ID: <3393@midway.cs.glasgow.ac.uk>
Date: 13 Sep 89 12:31:35 GMT
References: <428.24E71AB9@tlsi.FIDONET.ORG> <1348@abaa.UUCP> <30748@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <1989Aug20.025847.3430@twwells.com> <1563@abaa.UUCP> <14580@bfmny0.UUCP>
Reply-To: jack@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
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tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff) writes:
> }Well, ANOTHER lesson for new users is that when you realize after posting
> something that you shouldn't have posted it, you can CANCEL your posting
> rather than creating a big second posting apologizing for the first one.
> In "rn" the "C" key does the trick - with other newsreaders check the
> documentation.

At many sites (ours included) it DOESN'T do the trick; it takes more
thought than most system managers are prepared to put in to configure
things so this works.  (Here you get an error message saying "Can't
cancel someone else's article", which I believe is the usual symptom
of this screwup).

Better to think more carefully about your article in the first place;
instead of following up immediately using the "F" key, save the
article you're following up (with "w"), mark it unread (with "M"),
edit your followup outside the newsreader, and then reinvoke it to do
the followup.  If you add a cooling-off period like that, the chances
are you'll also take the time to check spelling, grammar, layout,
factual accuracy, and whether your article is really necessary anyhow.
All of which make life pleasanter for the rest of us on the net.


-- 
Jack Campin  *  Computing Science Department, Glasgow University, 17 Lilybank
Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, SCOTLAND.    041 339 8855 x6045 wk  041 556 1878 ho
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