Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version VT1.00C 11/1/84; site vortex.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!ucbvax!decvax!bellcore!vortex!lauren
From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: The politics of groups (of people)
Message-ID: <798@vortex.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Sep-85 23:32:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: vortex.798
Posted: Mon Sep  9 23:32:55 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Sep-85 06:28:24 EDT
References: <626@bu-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles
Lines: 28

The little issue of "wading through the stuff" remains in any
unmoderated environment, regardless of the transmission technology.
More and more people have been dropping off of netnews, not because
they can't get ENOUGH articles, but because they get TOO MANY
articles already.

Finding the occasional gems among the repetitious and "nonsense"
messages is getting increasingly difficult and fewer and fewer
people have time to try!  As the net grows, the number of such
"noise" messages will increase.  Wait until you ask a simple
question and get 10K replies, including a range of incorrect,
correct, and harrassment replies ("why did you bother asking
such a question you dummy?")  Even assuming all the replies are
correct and/or useful (which they won't be) it's still a pain.
We're reaching a point where people are rather reluctant to post
questions, due to the flood of replies that will come pouring
in, sometimes for WEEKS!

At the main session of the last Usenix conference, I asked the
full auditorium, "How many of you find that the sheer VOLUME
of 'less than useful and/or repetitious, etc.' material on Usenet 
has become unmanageable?  Have you found yourselves thinking about 
wading through netnews as much more of a pain than a pleasure?"  The number 
of hands that went up astounded even me.  It must have been well over 90%.

It's not MORE articles we need.  It's BETTER ones!

--Lauren--