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From: oberman@ptavv.llnl.gov
Newsgroups: comp.org.decus,comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: DECUS election ethics - LDEC
Message-ID: <1991Apr30.163508.1@ptavv.llnl.gov>
Date: 30 Apr 91 23:35:08 GMT
References: <00947A86B48FB3E0.00002CBC@eisner.decus.org> <1991Apr26.132534.2303@dcs.simpact.com> <1991Apr28.114603.1@simvax.labmed.umn.edu> <29APR91231050@misvax.mis.arizona.edu>
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In article <29APR91231050@misvax.mis.arizona.edu>, jms@misvax.mis.arizona.edu (Joel M Snyder) writes:
> Your reasoning is fallacious.  The reason that we have multiple news
> groups is so that one only has to listen to information one wants to.
> There are many, many things you don't know because they haven't been
> posted to comp.os.vms, and this is no reason to post them.  If you're
> interested in DECUS elections, then you should subscribe to comp.org.decus.
> If you're interested in motorsports, then subscribe to rec.bikers (or
> whatever it is).  The fact that a broad majority of the readers of one
> group overlaps the broad majority of another constituency seems to bring
> out this annoying, and perverse, tendency.  Posters who wish to avoid
> being known as "bandwidth wasters" should consider the ANNOUNCED readership 
> of a newsfroup, (i.e., people who care about vax/vms) rather than the
> COINCIDENTAL readership (i.e., people who care about vax/vms are likely
> to be members of DECUS, and thus are likely to care about DECUS matters,
> even if there is a whole group dedicated to DECUS matters).

The reasoning is not entirely fallacious. comp.os.vms is gatewayed to info-vax
where at least several hundred people with an interest in DECUS issues can be
reached. These people don't have access to network news and no access to this
group.

I haven't made up my mind as to which side of this argument I think is right,
but there is room for debate.

R. Kevin Oberman			Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Internet: oberman@icdc.llnl.gov		(415) 422-6955

Disclaimer: Don't take this too seriously. I just like to improve my typing
and probably don't really know anything useful about anything. Especially
anything gnu.