Path: utzoo!attcan!lsuc!sq!msb
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Posting questions to newsgroup you refuse to read - poor etiquette?
Message-ID: <1989Nov26.004524.28864@sq.sq.com>
Date: 26 Nov 89 00:45:24 GMT
References: <1989Nov22.195020.805@algor2.algorists.com>
Reply-To: msb@sq.com (Mark Brader)
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto
Lines: 28

> > Please mail replys to one of the addresses below - I can no longer
> > afford the time to wade through all of comp.lang.c.

> Do others feel this to be a breach of etiquette?

No, I think it's more a sign of net-inexperience.  An experienced poster
would say, "Please mail replies to me, and I'll summarize", and do so.

If the query had not included the contentious sentence, you would have
emailed any reply anyway; posted replies to questions of fact, except from
people with special expertise, are themselves a breach of etiquette
because they are very likely to be duplicates.  (The worst problem in
groups like comp.lang.c is inappropriate responses, not inappropriate
queries.  This is exactly why the "semi-moderation" proposal has some appeal,
though I'm not sure whether or not I think it's worth trying.)

So in the actual case, simply email your reply (assuming that you were
going to), and in that reply remind the questioner that it's good etiquette
to post a summary of responses.  Relax; no problem.

If you don't see a followup within a week or so, THEN you're entitled to
be annoyed, but keep your complaints to email also.

-- 
Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc.,			"Verbose better."
Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com		    -- David M. Sherman

This article is in the public domain.