Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site looking.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Signature files, ORGANIZATION etc.  It's not reading it that bothers me, it's paying for it
Message-ID: <253@looking.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-Mar-85 00:00:00 EST
Article-I.D.: looking.253
Posted: Mon Mar 18 00:00:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 19-Mar-85 05:01:37 EST
References: <2478@nsc.UUCP>
Organization: Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ont
Lines: 41

I have often seen articles that say, "If you don't want to read an article,
hit the 'n' key", or "If you don't want to see a large signature just hack
your news reader not to print it."

Such postings miss the point.  If this were the point, I would have no
complaint (although I might point out my N key is due to wear out any day).

The point is that this $millon/year net is being paid for and all the noise
ups the cost.  While some people may put interesting quotes in their
signatures, that's really not their purpose.  If they really are new
information they should be communicated as such, not as extra information
tacked onto the real new information the user wanted to read and pay for.

But quotes are tolerable compared to some things we get.  People's POSTAL
addresses!!!  For all the gigabytes of news that have flowed, has anybody
ever gotten a response to an article in the postal mail?  Ever?
(Without an electronic mail message as well, of course)  And your home
address as well as office address?  Why do you want me to see all that?
Even phone numbers are on a thin edge.  I once got a phone response to
an article, so they have some validity, but no more than one phone number
is really needed in most cases.

And of course we have the 300 different routes to get to me stuff.  I
suppose in the crazy net we have there is some justification for this, but
hopefully proper software will soon eliminate this.  I had hoped it already
had in most places.

Finally we get our friend the cute picture.  I'm glad we're paying for sending
these.  I swear that some people must think that the longer their article
is, the more impressed people will be.  Here's a hint - for me it's exactly
the reverse.

As for Organization.  This was granted the high-cost status of a header line
to remove the confusion about who and where a poster is.  Since people move
around, it was put in an environment variable so users could post from a
place that is unusal for them and still have the right organization.  I
would like to thank all the people who have been kind enough to inform me
that they are in "The Warlock's Cave" or in "Plaid Heaven."  That feature is
not there for the poster, it's there for the reader.  Please remember that.
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473