Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mcnc.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!bch
From: bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron Howes)
Newsgroups: net.social
Subject: Re: Is anyone out there?
Message-ID: <2350@mcnc.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 11-Nov-84 15:02:34 EST
Article-I.D.: mcnc.2350
Posted: Sun Nov 11 15:02:34 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Nov-84 01:11:48 EST
References: <242@hocsj.UUCP> <sun.1787>
Reply-To: bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron Howes)
Organization: North Carolina Educational Computing Service
Lines: 30
Summary: 

Golly, a meta-discussion in net.social!  Fascinating.

If I recall correctly (...sounds of intensive memory searching...) net.social
was created when the inhabitants of net.singles objected to us older married
folks intruding into *their* newsgroup.  (Sound familiar, folks?  Nothing
*ever* really changes on the net.)  The original name was to be net.married
(y-a-w-n) but the cohabiters objected because they felt they had the same
problems as the marrieds.  So, net.social was created with the usual amount
of flaming and carrying on that accompanies the birth of a new newsgroup.

Of course by the time it was created, all of the original participants in
the discussion had passed whatever life-crises originated the request so
nobody actually used the group.  Instead, it became the newsgroup of etiquette
questions, slopover from net.singles and net.kids and another catchall group
which periodically is the target of shouts of "Is anybody there?"

As for the original purpose, it was doomed to failure anyway.  Most of us
elder types know each other (or knew each other at the time) and ain't a
one of us gonna deal with our personal problems here.  We *see* what happens
in net.singles, right?  Either that, or we found blissful contentment in
our relationships, just like the books say we should, right?

Hey, thanks but no thanks, I think I'll go back to net.religion where we
discuss light topics like the Source of all Truth.  The stakes aren't
nearly as high.

-- 

						Byron C. Howes
				      ...!{decvax,akgua}!mcnc!ecsvax!bch