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From: eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Press parasites? Net parasites
Message-ID: <1378@ames.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 30-Jan-86 13:43:26 EST
Article-I.D.: ames.1378
Posted: Thu Jan 30 13:43:26 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Feb-86 21:42:12 EST
References: <8601290324.AA02523@s1-b.arpa>
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 35

The following commentary is not unique to the net, but can be
found in the print, the airwaves, and the wires:

> (4) NASA isn't helping things by keeping quiet,... 
> If NASA takes too long the media could get unruly.
> 
> (6) ... .  Hard facts will be scarce for a while,...
> sucking all sorts of speculation, accusation and justification into
> public view.

The second comment says it all.  This is not like the Apollo fire
where there was lots of evidence.  I am tired of everybody beginning to
say, "It's clear . . ." when it is `clear' to me that many people do not
know what they are talking about.  We have a penant for causality and
determinism.  We have all seen a single set of footage and have picked up
on little artifacts.  Important pieces of information are missing
and what might appear to be a `cause' might in reality be an after
effect of something greater yet unseen.  Grand-stand post-mortems only
contribute to rumors, and we (in NASA) have heard many.  Someone on the net
might summarize known facts, some one else might collect summarize
and check off implications (neither of these should be in NASA)
without the redundant replication.  I cannot comment on the various
speculations, but so long as we remember that they are just speculations
and remember to eliminate them, we will avoid Zapruder (sp) based
analysis.

Certainly, we are in a damage control mode.  We will have to await
Mr. Weinburger's comments after the retoric has died down.

With that, I bid you adieu.

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Research Center
  {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene
  eugene@ames-nas.ARPA