Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!rpi!tale
From: tale@pawl.rpi.edu (David C Lawrence)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: .aquaria
Summary: flames?  like that make blackened redfish?
Message-ID: <1989Oct23.043600.21176@rpi.edu>
Date: 23 Oct 89 04:36:00 GMT
References: <20983@gryphon.COM> <4732@ncar.ucar.edu> <2688@cpoint.UUCP>
	<8348@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> <2696@cpoint.UUCP>
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Lines: 47

In <2696@cpoint.UUCP> alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells) writes:
Alien> Actually, I consider the 'debate' in news.groups to be a
Alien> perfect example of what I fear from a mainstream distribution
Alien> in rec.  Flaming begets flaming, and once the heat is turned
Alien> up, any voice of reason is lost in the din.

To reiterate, the flaming has nothing to do with the hierarchy.  Do
you really think that there will be more flames in rec.aquaria then
there would be in sci.aquaria?  Given the statements of some people
here, it seems quite the opposite.  Frankly, I would be very surprised
to see _any_ flaming in rec.aquaria.

Further example of the hierarchy being less important than the people,
as far as flaming is concerned: rec.humor versus rec.motorcycles.  I
won't follow rec.humor because of all of the noise in there, but the
occasional flame I do see spill into rec.humor.d is usually in reply
to four or five flames preceding it.  Conversely, rec.motorcycles is a
very high-quality group.  Even in a community typically saddled by the
likes of "JapCrap vs HD Boar" wars the atmosphere of the group is
highly informative and flames are virtually never seen.

Alien> I would also point out that what looks like a flame depends a
Alien> lot on what your point of view is.  People are a lot more
Alien> forgiving of postings that agree with them.

I have more respect for the intelligence of the people that use USENET
and the higher quality groups than that.  I think most people here are
capable of knowing a flame when they see one, even if they agree with
the sentiment.

Alien> And to answer your implied question, alt.aquaria has less
Alien> flaming (virtually none) than any group I've seen, anyone that
Alien> flames gets condemned - even by people who agree with his
Alien> position - about his lack of ettiquette, ...

See?  You see examples of it yourself.  

Alien> ... and I am not interested in seeing a rec.aquaria.flames -
Alien> either in name or in content.

And just what do you think is going to happen in there?  The idiots
will come crawling out of the woodwork because it was stamped "rec"?
What sort of flaming is it that you doomsay?

Dave
-- 
 (setq mail '("tale@pawl.rpi.edu" "tale@itsgw.rpi.edu" "tale@rpitsmts.bitnet"))