Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!comp.vuw.ac.nz!waikato!phil
From: phil@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Basic questions posted to the net.
Message-ID: <2360.27514014@waikato.ac.nz>
Date: 26 Nov 90 03:17:23 GMT
References: <36278@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <16129@brahms.udel.edu>
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Lines: 27

In article <16129@brahms.udel.edu>, weave@brahms.udel.edu (Ken Weaverling)
writes:
> However, what ticks me off is the "please e-mail cause I never read this
> group, I'll post a summary." request, and no summary usually appears.  If one
> asks a question and gets the answer thru email, they have, IMHO, an ethical
> obligation to the net to summarize -- think of it as payment for services.
> There may be a lot of us waiting for the summary...

I agree - it's nice when help sent off into email doesn't go nto a black hole.
> 
> The ole "if there is enough interest, I'll summarize" disclaimer sucks too.
> Should the net be filled with "I'm interested too, let me know" messages?
> 
I disagree.  The person who puts the message in is probably busy and doesn't
feel like spending 1/2 an hour or more compiling a note that noone's going to
read.  It's inappropriate to answer such requests in the newsgroup -- answers
to this sort of request should be mailed to the poster.  

I've posted such messages in the past, in this group and others.  Sometimes
I've gauged interest badly and been showered with email, other times I've only
had a couple of replies, to which I've responded personally.  I guess the only
problem with this method is that "listeners" mightn't respond and will miss
out.  
-- 
Phil Etheridge (phil@waikato.ac.nz)                 /\  /\   -+-,--, .--, ._
Computer Services/Mathematics & Statistics         /  \/  \  / /--< /--  /
University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ.              /        \/ /__.) \_  /