Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site lsuc.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcs!lsuc!dave
From: dave@lsuc.UUCP (David Sherman)
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: storm warning
Message-ID: <735@lsuc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 24-Jul-85 09:20:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: lsuc.735
Posted: Wed Jul 24 09:20:09 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Jul-85 10:25:11 EDT
References: <5815@utzoo.UUCP>
Reply-To: dave@lsuc.UUCP (David Sherman)
Organization: Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto
Lines: 29
Summary: No reason we can't assert some Canadian independence

Henry raises a good point. I think the Canadian subnet is small and
controlled enough that we can consider doing something about it.

Take net.flame, for example.  The net at large has been discussing
whether it should be removed. I think the Canadian subnet can
hold a similar discussion in parallel. In some ways, if the
US net decides to keep net.flame but we decided we could live
without it, things would be better for us.

There are three problems which results from noise on the net:
	(1) wasted reading time
	(2) wasted disk space
	(3) high phone bills (in Toronto, particularly to utzoo)

(1) can be solved by anyone, if they can put their addictions to
sleep, but turning off newsgroups. (Of course, then they lose the
important material in those groups, but that's a netwide problem,
not a Canadian problem.) [Shall we form a Usenetholics Anonymous?
When you get the urge to type "rn", you send mail to your UA counsellor
instead :-)]

(2) is, I think, not that much of a concern. Most sites with full
feeds these days have large disks, and an entire 2-week Usenet feed
still doesn't take a significant fraction of an Eagle (15/414ths).

(3) is obviously a problem. But we may be able to solve it via
cheaper communications links (2400 baud, or X.25).
-- 
{  ihnp4!utzoo  pesnta  utcs  hcr  decvax!utcsri  }  !lsuc!dave