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From: hokey@plus5.UUCP (Hokey)
Newsgroups: net.news,net.news.adm
Subject: Re: Is the death of the net coming in September?
Message-ID: <304@plus5.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 15-Jul-84 15:49:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: plus5.304
Posted: Sun Jul 15 15:49:01 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Jul-84 03:27:08 EDT
References: <8324@watmath.UUCP> <692@ariel.UUCP>
Organization: Plus Five Computer Services, St. Louis
Lines: 81

> Right now it's summer, and most schools are on vacation, and a sizable
> percentage of other people are in the same state.  So the net is
> quieter.  Yet it's still growing.  Will the return of all these people,
> plus the usual growth, be the final straw for the net?
> 
> If so, what can we do.....
> It's gotta happen someday folks, the question is, when?
> -- 
> 	Brad Templeton - Waterloo, Ont. (519) 886-7304

Seems to me it is about time that we news administrators became more
responsible for the actions of our users.  I was Really Impressed by
the second message in my References: line.  I don't mean to sound like
I am flaming Tom for being ignorant of the workings of the Distribution:
line.  I don't flame people for ignorance (stupidity is another story).

Rhetorical Question:  Why didn't Tom ask his news adm?

Mark Horton moaned at the SLC show that he gets nasty letters from
some news neophytes when he tells them they should post some of their
articles to groups other than net.general.  They say "Who are you to
tell me what to do?".  I suggested to Mark that he write the news
administrator at that site instead.  He replied that his mail gets
returned because the target is an "Unknown User".

The news administrator should be responsible for both the news software
and the availability of documentation on the correct use of news at
his site (pardon the pronoun).  The news administrator should expect
the software and documentation to be available.  If a site is not capable
of responsibly administering its news system then that responsibility
should be assumed by a neighbor, or the site should be bounced from the net.

The following is a list of issues and possible answers.

1) We need better news software.
  Problem: Volunteers?
  Answer: Pay somebody to write the software.
    Problem: Too many sites exist because management allegedly doesn't know
	about usenet.
    Answer: Hide the cost.  If each site spent $100 more on their membership
	dues to /usr/group, usenix, or some similar organization, there would
	be enough money to fund a full-time effort along these lines.  Gee
	whiz, maybe we could clone a better version of uucp and *roff when
	this is done.  This software, I believe, won't get written *in a
	timely manner* if we expect it to come from either volunteer effort
	or from the private sector.
  Wishlist:
	Provide facility for the screening of articles from "new" users.
	I don't want to see censorship or editorialization of articles,
	but I would like to see a reduction in the amount of net cruft.

	Have rnews tell the local admin and the sending site whenever an
	article comes in with a bad Line: count or illegal newsgroups.
	This will put the heat where the fire is.

	Automatic maintenance of the active file with respect to what
	newsgroups should (not) be there.  It should handle organizational,
	regional, local, and "to" groups.

	Online documentation should be a standard part of the system.
	People should be able to EASILY find a list of valid newsgroups
	and what they are for.

2) Responsible administration of the news net.
  Problem: Administrators don't have the proper tools.
  Answer: Better Sotware

  Problem: Administrators don't have the time.
  Answer: Have somebody else administer the stuff (perhaps a neighbor).

  Problem: What is a site can't/won't do it?
  Answer: Have a neighbor administer their news operations.  Kick them off.
	Live with the results.

3) The education of local users should be the responsibility of the local site.
  See (2).

I'd appreciate constructive comments and criticisms.
-- 
Hokey           ..ihnp4!plus5!hokey
		  314-725-9492