Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cca!mirror!ima!haddock!karl
From: karl@haddock.ISC.COM (Karl Heuer)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: Cross posting to unwanted newsgroups
Message-ID: <1422@haddock.ISC.COM>
Date: Fri, 16-Oct-87 15:10:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: haddock.1422
Posted: Fri Oct 16 15:10:07 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 17-Oct-87 23:21:18 EDT
References: <1651@killer.UUCP> <2700@tekgvs.TEK.COM> <4827@ncoast.UUCP> <1987Oct14.021942.22522@sq.uucp> <30954@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer)
Organization: Interactive Systems, Boston
Lines: 27
Summary: "first newsgroup" rule is bad

In article <30954@sun.uucp> chuq@sun.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
>I think a primary group is good. I suggested exactly that a couple of years
>ago. You simply modify postnews and Pnews to send a followup to [the groups
>listed in "Followup-To:", if any; else the FIRST group in "Newsgroups:"].
>The user, as always, can override ...

I disagree (and, in fact, agree with Mark Brader).  As I see it, the problem
is that the current scheme of automatically cross-posting followups is SILENT.
Most users don't realize that they are doing so, as evidenced by the frequent
use of the phrase "this newsgroup".

A sufficiently observant user can override the default in either your proposal
or Mark's, so let's see what happens in the case of the careless cross-poster.
(Sounds like a mystery title!)  Mark suggests that the software should inform
the user and let him interactively select the appropriate newsgroups.  Your
proposal would, in effect, select a random newsgroup (possibly not the one the
user is reading, or even subscribed to) for the followup.  How can this be
better?

>Realistically, there is little need to widely spread followups. An riginal
>posting can be spread around to let people know that a conversation has
>started, but they should then decided on a place to finish it.

I agree with the general principle, but not your implementation.  I think
quite a bit of cross-posting would go away simply by making the users aware.

Karl W. Z. Heuer (ima!haddock!karl or karl@haddock.isc.com), The Walking Lint