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From: clubmac@runx.ips.oz (Macintosh Users Group)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Demo Design
Message-ID: <1147@runx.ips.oz>
Date: Fri, 9-Oct-87 06:00:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: runx.1147
Posted: Fri Oct  9 06:00:24 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 12-Oct-87 05:55:00 EDT
References: <1034@cooper.UUCP> <2531@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Reply-To: clubmac@runx.OZ (Macintosh Users Group - Sydney, Australia)
Organization: RUNX  Un*x Timeshare. Sydney, Australia.
Lines: 50

In article <2531@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> saunders@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (kevin eric saunders) writes:
>>[Demo Version of Design v2.0 - part 5 of 10]
>   What the **** is this incredibly long binary doing in comp.sys.mac?  
>Binaries should be submitted to the moderator of comp.binaries.mac.  
>
>   This is an abuse of Usenet, and the perpetrator deserves a roasting.  

What is WORSE is the proliferation of postings that are more than 3 parts,
as well as the use of comp.binaries.mac as a cheap way of distributing demo
versions of software, updates to commercial software, and Apple Technotes.

1) Demo software is of limited use to the net - the Design Demo should have
   been made available by giving a postal address to send a SASE+disk to
   for a copy of the demo. The Design Demo has shown up in both comp.sys.mac
   (where is doesn't belong) and in comp.binaries.mac (some weeks ago!);

2) I personally appreciate the postings of updates to Lightspeed C & Pascal,
   but I wonder just how many subscribers to comp.binaries.mac use them;

3) There is an EXCELLENT source of Apple Technical Notes called APDA (or
   AAPDA in Australia). For the last few months, I have received the Technotes
   from AAPDA a fortnight before they show up in comp.binaries.mac. I'm
   sure that APDA members on the net receive the technotes well before they
   are posted;

4) Postings such as NetHack are too big (and expensive) as a single posting
   to be cost effective. NetHack is probably already available from BMUG,
   BCS and other MUGs. When there is talk of comp.binaries.mac being a 
   borderline case with the USENET lords, I think that large postings
   should be filtered out by the comp.{binaries,sources}.mac moderator,
   Roger Long.
   Also, these 5+ part postings (such as Design Demo 2.0, Apple Technotes,
   NetHack and the Lightspeed Pascal update) wreak havoc, with people
   posting requests for this or that part.

Australian readers of comp.sys.mac cannot get access to the INFO-MAC archives,
so we rely on Roger Long's postings to get some of it (a dribble).

Wouldn't most readers of comp.sys.mac prefer to see more of the SMALLER
and more useful postings (as described in the INFO-MAC digests) rather
than these HUGE postings, which are specialist? 


Jason Haines, President

Club Mac Macintosh Users Group, Sydney, Australia
Phone Home: +61-02-73-4444
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