Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83 based; site houxm.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!gregbo From: gregbo@houxm.UUCP (Greg Skinner) Newsgroups: net.news Subject: Re: Objection to annonymous postings Message-ID: <992@houxm.UUCP> Date: Sun, 18-Nov-84 14:52:29 EST Article-I.D.: houxm.992 Posted: Sun Nov 18 14:52:29 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 19-Nov-84 03:36:01 EST References: <112@normac.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ Lines: 72 scott@normac.UUCP: > An interesting problem ... (help! net programmers, Help!) I agree, see below. wendya@apollo.UUCP: >> 5) ... many netters may very well bitterly regret some of their public >> soul-searching (which, in some cases, borders on exhibitionism) >> [when] they seek employment, academic contacts, etc., ... >> The ability to post articles anonymously does NOT solve >> this problem - it exacerbates it by legitimatizing excesses and >> irresponsibility which should never appear on the net anyway. > [what about the netters that are using the net to advertise their eloquence? > I don't care much for them either... being forced to be anonymous might > help to ease the swelling of their heads] There is a good and bad side to the publicity one gets when being an "eloquent" speaker in a public forum such as this. The good is that it enables one to make contacts, or at least be heard of in places where one wouldn't necessary be able to go otherwise. When it comes time for one to pursue a different job, academic path, etc., such a resource is invaluable. The bad is that not everyone is going to agree with what you say, and you could alienate a lot of people (and their employers) if you persist in your argu- ments. This could be very bad when one is looking for another job or to pursue an academic path -- in many cases even a talented individual can be turned down for a job because someone "might have heard something" about them. Me personally, I do not like to think that I am so unreasonable as to turn off any of my fellow netters ... I like USENET as it is now and I wouldn't want to see it go to satellite broadcasting, since the legal issues involved would cause the old charm of the net to disappear and make things far too regimented. (Some feel this is the way things should be.) > Perhaps the problem we are really discovering here is that the > communication mechanism provided by the network doesn't seem to work > very well for discussing complex philosophical and social issues. True. However, it is the discussion of complex philosophical issues that makes USENET pleasant to me, and to many others as well (judging from the newsstats). When I first became a netter, it was largely to discuss the techological problems of communication between ARPA and UUCP. As time went on, and I dis- covered the vast range of subjects available for discussion, I broadened my reading to the newsgroups I read and post to today. > Perhaps we could start a newsgroup to design the kind of news software > we would need to discuss complex social issues like abortion. Something > that would reduce the traffic my keeping some sort of skeleton for the > discussion in progress in at each site and letting people pick away at it, > reformulating issues, voting on propositions, submitting rebuttals, etc. > Any ideas? (forget modeling it after our government!) Sounds like a good idea. Better still, is there enough interest to start up a company (USENET, Inc. for example) whose sole purpose is to design news software and sell it to Unix machines (perhaps netnews could also be written for other operating systems)? Think about it, if people are willing to pay for good software, a lot of the problems the net is experiencing would dis- appear. Also, if it is true that we are soon to be going to satellite comm- unication of netnews, there probably ought to be a base company responsible for quality transmission of data, reliablility, perhaps government (but that's another issue). Think about it ... -- Baby tie your hair back in a long white bow ... Meet me in the field, behind the dynamo ... Greg Skinner (gregbo) {allegra,cbosgd,ihnp4}!houxm!gregbo