Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!duke!unc!tim
From: tim@unc.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: arming airliners
Message-ID: <5873@unc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 15-Sep-83 14:38:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.5873
Posted: Thu Sep 15 14:38:26 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 16-Sep-83 19:27:56 EDT
References: rabbit.1931
Lines: 27


    I thought it was clear that the person who submitted this
outlandish suggestion (arming passenger airliners) was not being
serious.  I am GLAD that he didn't put one of those moronic ":-)"
symbols on the article.  If your article is funny, it doesn't need the
":-)"; if it does need the ":-)", it isn't funny and should never have
been posted.

    That reminds me of an article in my college newspaper after I left
the editorial staff.  They ran an article that had about six inches
(10-point type, 1.5 to 2 inch-wide columns, if I recall correctly)
of initial disclaimer, warning you that if you weren't a person who
appreciated satire, then maybe you shouldn't read the following,
because it is satire, not meant to be taken seriously, and we aren't
really saying the things we mean to say, and....  Apparently, that
wasn't enough -- they also made the first word of the headline
"Satire" (in 48-point type or so) and ran an underlined 10-point
teaser above the headline, also a satire warning.  Of course, this
completely ruined any chance of humorous impact, even if the
satire part of the article hadn't been so poorly written.  The
":-)" and its variants do the same, albeit to a lesser degree.

___________
Tim Maroney
duke!unc!tim (USENET)
tim.unc@udel-relay (ARPA)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill