Xref: utzoo news.misc:1080 news.config:384 alt.flame:1155
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!amdahl!hoptoad!cpsc6a!codas!killer!billw
From: billw@killer.UUCP (Bill Wisner)
Newsgroups: news.misc,news.config,alt.flame
Subject: Re: Correction - Re: The USENET Backbone (Last changed: 10 December 1987)
Message-ID: <2663@killer.UUCP>
Date: 4 Jan 88 23:01:17 GMT
References: <2802@arthur.cs.purdue.edu> <14191@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> <19509@clyde.ATT.COM> <1270@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: billw@oberon.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bill Wisner)
Organization: HASA
Lines: 29

Brad Templeton suggests that every month, the two most costly newsgroups be
removed. He believes this would result in great savings.

This is ridiculous. You may condemn comp.sys.amiga as being worthless because
you don't own an Amiga, but (as evidenced by the high volume of that
newsgroup) it IS useful to a hell of a lot of others. And no, I don't own
an Amiga.

Who are you to decide what should stay and go? A stupid action such as the
removal of comp.sys.amiga would result first in a big angry outcry from a
LOT of disgruntled Amiga owners on the net. Then I'd say it quite likely that
the Amiga owners would take it to comp.sys.misc (does that exist?) or
comp.sys.m68000 (whatever) resulting in a lot of disgruntled .misc or
.m68000 readers. A huge flamefest would start, with the only benefit accruing
to alt.flame fans.

But it gets better. Templeton goes on to say that some newsgroups, like
comp.mail.maps, should be exempted from such a policy of newsgroup genocide.
He implies that comp.mail.maps is inherently worthy and comp.sys.amiga is
inherently unworthy. Try explaining that to the hundreds (thousands?) of
USENET-readers-and-Amiga-owners who are utterly indifferent to the very
existence of pathalias?

I find it hard to accept such galling bigotry. And the net is an anarchy,
remember, Brad? There aren't supposed to be any autocratic dictators
hereabouts...
-- 
Bill Wisner / {cbosgd,codas,ihnp4}!killer!billw / billw@oberon.LCS.MIT.EDU
If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door.