Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!apple!chuq
From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Red Ryder 11.0 Announcement
Keywords: white knight
Message-ID: <35941@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 26 Oct 89 15:57:25 GMT
References: <829@pmafire.UUCP> <1866@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Life is just a Fantasy novel played for keeps
Lines: 37

>However, now that everyone is voicing their opinion on this matter, I must
>say that any commercial use of the newsgroup should be totally banned.

How do you plan on implementing this? Bans are great -- but without
enforcement, they're effectively worthless. (Hint: in ten years of hacking
usenet, we've never come up with an enforcement mechanism. Good luck). Best
thing we have -- and it generally works quite well -- is peer pressure. If
something steps over the line, enough people bitch so it doesn't happen
again.

>If the software vendors keep track of its registered users, they can (and
>should) send upgrade info directly to the registered users only!

Many do. But something like 20% of the homes in america move every year.
When you move, do you write and tell every company you've registered
software from that you've moved? Did yo send in the card in the first
place?

A mailing list can be counted on to be about 18% obsolete after 12 months,
and about 25% obsolete after 18 months -- not to mention that only about 3
in 10 people turn in the registration cards in the first place. It's not
just the developers fault the mailings don't get out. That's why these
things need to be distributed.

These occurances are really rare. If you want to scream about commercial
use of the net, scream about the growing tendency of places like
comp.sys.mac to be used for classified ads. There are *lots* more of those
than there are postings of things like White Knight.


-- 

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

Trust Mama Nature to remind us just how important things like sci.aquaria's
name really is in the scheme of things.