Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!sun-barr!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!sparkyfs.erg.sri.com!hercules!fernwood!portal!cup.portal.com!Radagast
From: Radagast@cup.portal.com (sullivan - segall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: ABOUT THE comp.sys.amiga REORGANIZATION VOTE
Message-ID: <36258@cup.portal.com>
Date: 27 Nov 90 08:06:19 GMT
References: <1990Nov26.202243.5977@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>
Distribution: na
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 49

>About 75 votes have been received in the first dozen or so hours, and a
>surprising number of them are mixed ballots, despite my plea for a
>straight yes or straight no vote.
>
>Just a note on the actual effect of voting against a particular group.
>
>The traffic you don't like won't go away, because there is effectively
>no mechanism for shutting it off.
>
I can't believe that some of the groups described will ever be used.  
Others seem entirely inappropriate.  While some like c.s.a.games are 
well conceived and can be completely inferred from their titles, others
would IMHO only draw crossposts, and would never be understood or used
by the common poster for their intended purpose.  
 
Also groups like c.s.a.advocacy seem to me to be doomed to failure.  In
this case you are not trying to contain a subject, but a behaviour.  The
behaviour is persistent and will come out in posts from the same user 
regardless of the locale.  The only way to stop advocacy postings from 
appearing in c.s.a.misc is by getting all of the advocacy users to 
unsubscribe to the group.

Other proposed groups are so nebulous in name that the poster would have
to reference the group charter to figure out what the group is for.  
As an example c.s.a.marketing is worthless although I might vote in a
c.s.a.forsale group.  (Which would undoubtably contain both wanted and
for-sale posts.)  To me 'marketing' means marketing the amiga, as in
"How can we promote the amiga."  Whatever its stated charter it will 
always suffer from being misnamed.  I can't support that kind of a group.
 
To everyone:  Whatever Kent might say, I think it is our responsibility 
   not to clutter the network with newsgroups.  If you see a need for a 
   group, then it is appropriate.  If you do not see a need, then vote 
   against it.  If you don't participate in any of the discussions that
   would appear in that group then abstain.  I don't really think it is
   concientious to mass vote in 14 new groups without having a clear idea
   of why each one is needed. 

                           -Sullivan_-_Segall (a.k.a. Radagast)
_______________________________________________________________
 
/V\  E-Credibility:  (n -- ME) The unguaranteed likelyhood that
 '   the electronic mail you are reading is genuine rather than
someone's made up crap.
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