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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!ut-sally!riddle
From: riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Anarchy in (in)action, part 2: the consumers' newsgroup
Message-ID: <812@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Jan-84 20:27:26 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.812
Posted: Fri Jan 20 20:27:26 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Jan-84 08:32:29 EST
Organization: U. of Tx. at Houston-in-the-Hills
Lines: 46

In my last article I talked about how the nature of the net and a bit
of bad luck resulted in the stillbirth of net.bio.  This article is
about an even sillier case: the consumers' newsgroup.

Originally proposed in net.general and debated in net.followup as well
as net.news.group, the suggested group quickly received a warm
response.  The following users cast votes for some form of consumers'
newsgroup:

	coevax!croteau        proper!gam           uicsl!wombat
	dciem!ntt             rabbit!ark           uiuccsb!leimkuhl
	druxt!mcq             rayssd!hxe           umcp-cs!liz
	ihuxm!spear           rayssd!wjr           ut-sally!riddle
	ittral!pellegri       root44!addw
	micomvax!pace         sii!mem

There was only one vote cast against the idea:

	pucc-h!ab3

The only real disagreement surrounding the newsgroup was about its
name.  By my tally, votes were cast for the following names:

	net.caveat   3       net.products       1      net.ripoff    2
	net.consumer 2       net.review.product 1      us.<whatever> 1

(It should be added that net.ripoff was the first name proposed, and
that the other names gained their support from people who thought that
"ripoff" was a little too negative.  Us.<any-of-the-above> was
suggested by a European who felt that the newsgroup was a good idea but
needn't be transatlantic.)

With a clear consensus that the newsgroup would be a good idea but no
enthusiastically agreed-upon name, discussion died down.  No superuser
happened to come forward (as in the case of the much more controversial
net.veg) and end the dispute by arbitrarily picking a name and creating
it.  For even this simple task, the anarchic nature of the net proved
ineffective.

So once again:  is there no superuser out there willing to take the
bull by the horns and create a consumers' newsgroup?


--- Prentiss Riddle
--- ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle