Path: utzoo!yunexus!ists!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!chuq
From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: Proposed Guidelines Change (was Re: A Few Observations)
Keywords: backbone, oligarchy
Message-ID: <36609@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 18 Nov 89 00:47:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: apple.36609
References: <5289@ncar.ucar.edu> <1530@uvaarpa.virginia.edu>
Organization: Life is just a Fantasy novel played for keeps
Lines: 43

>As the net gets bigger, there will inevitably be more and more group
>proposals -- too many to get careful attention from very many people.

That was the reason for the creation of news.announce.newgroups. A
low-volume group that lets you keep an eye out for things you're interested
in. A group proposal shouldn't need careful attention except from the people
who have an interest in it. If they had to scan news.groups for it, I might
agree with you, but we've already dealt with this problem.

>But the larger the vote on anything, the harder it will be to get a 2/3
>vote.  

I don't agree. Right now (if you look at the numbers produced in
rec.models.rocket) most groups that pass do so with numbers closer to 5:1 or
10:1, rather than 3:2. There would have to be major shifts in voting
patterns to have most groups that are currently passing start to fail. The
exception was sci.aquaria, which sort of proves the point (IMHO)>

>1.  Groups will have a better chance being created where the total vote
>    is small, thus favoring creation of groups catering to smaller and
>    smaller of the net as a whole.

The current voting results don't prove this out.

>2.  Groups will tend not to be created if there are even
>    a small number of vocal opposers, because they will be able to
>    generate enough controversy to make 2/3 support difficult if not
>    impossible.

The current voting results don't prove this out, either. Most groups are
passing with numbers like 200 Yes, 20 No. So there would have to be major
changes in voting patterns before your dire predictions come true.

>What do you _really_ want to do?

Restore a little sanity and make it harder to politick a bad group in. 

-- 

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

All it takes is one thorn to make you forget the dozens of roses on the bush.