Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!caip!sri-spam!nike!ucbcad!ucbvax!hplabs!sdcrdcf!randvax!edhall
From: edhall@randvax.UUCP (Ed Hall)
Newsgroups: net.news.group,soc.singles
Subject: Re: Saving net.singles--what for?
Message-ID: <535@randvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Sep-86 04:58:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: randvax.535
Posted: Fri Sep 19 04:58:20 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Sep-86 20:45:44 EDT
References: <213@hao.UUCP> <214@hao.UUCP> <15672@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <215@hao.UUCP>
Reply-To: edhall@rand-unix.UUCP (Ed Hall)
Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica
Lines: 42
Xref: mnetor net.news.group:3464 soc.singles:7

In article <215@hao.UUCP> woods@hao.UUCP (Greg Woods) writes:
>In article <15672@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, gsmith@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Gene Ward Smith) writes:
>> Two highly technical groups have been made
>> talk: *.{philosophy.tech,politics.arms-d}.  There are NO flames in either
>> such group.  
>
>  These groups, according to a consensus of backbone SA's and other long-time
>netters, are NOT considered technical. Period. Gene is, of course, entitled
>to his opinion; you'll never get EVERYONE to agree on the definition of
>"technical". Our opinion disagrees with Gene's, that's the bottom line.

Around here, ``arms-d'' is just about as technical as you can get--it has
more to do with what people actually work on here at Rand than, say,
mod.compilers.  And I can think of a few dozen other sites where this is
equally true.  In fact, some of the *longest*-time netters (ever hear of
ARPANET?) are at these sites. (Some are or have been backbones, too--Rand
was a few years back, though we couldn't honestly justify spending
taxpayer money on net.flamage so the plug was pulled.)

And, wonder of wonders, there are actually sites where ``philosophy.tech''
is (or should be) considered of greater technical importance than, say,
mod.protocols.  Ever hear of Universities?  Is there some reason why
learned discourse in areas other than computer science is somehow less
worthy?  I think the attitude of the ruling netters is a bit narrow-
minded.

Welcome to the world of net-politics.  And if you don't think you and
those ``backbone SA's and other long-time netters'' are politicians in
every sense of the word, Greg, think again.  It's the smell of power that
draws you as much as altruistic dedication to ``the net.'' This isn't to
say that we don't owe you [all] a great debt of gratitude for your hard
work in keeping the net going, or that you don't deserve the power you
have.  But humility isn't one of your stronger points, and I have to admit
this constant chorus on just how wonderful a job you and your friends are
doing of saving the net from itself is getting a wee bit tiresome--not
to mention being the stimulus of literally thousands of lines of flames
(yours and theirs) over the past year or so.

Making no claims to humility myself, these have been mine.

		-Ed Hall
		decvax!randvax!edhall