Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!oddjob!hao!husc6!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!uw-june!uw-entropy!dataio!pilchuck!toad!jgray From: jgray@toad.pilchuck.Data-IO.COM (Jerry Late Nite Gray) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: When is someone going to moderate comp.binaries.ibm.pc Message-ID: <829@pilchuck.Data-IO.COM> Date: 9 Feb 88 21:48:31 GMT References: <3168@watcgl.waterloo.edu> Sender: news@Data-IO.COM Distribution: comp Lines: 58 Keywords: I'm tired of the non-binaries posted there Summary: junk is there for a reason.... In article <3168@watcgl.waterloo.edu>, jjboritz@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Jim Boritz) writes: > > Comp.binaries.ibm.pc is becoming inundated with all sorts of junk that does > not belong there. > > Flame on. > .... (verbiage deleted) > Flame Off. > > I am sorry but a binaries newsgroup should be just that, a binaries > newsgroup. If people could resist from posting other things there then > there would be no great need to have it moderated. Until then ... Has it ever occurred to anyone that the "junk" is there for a reason? I understand the supposed frustration of readers anywhere that must repeatedly use the "n" key to get passed unwanted articles. But it is necessary. Why? Any study of information flow in an imperfect media (anyone care to defend the concept that usenet is perfect?)shows that some kind of information control is NECESSARY. Errors which are not true data errors (glitches) are errors of the type stated in the previous posting ("Gee I missed the Nth article of a 13 part mini-series" or "I threw away pkarc before I realized I needed it" and so on....). Corrective action is always needed. comp.sys.ibm.pc gets about a 100 articles a day not related to anything on comp.binaries.ibm.pc. Most people do not have the time or inclination to review ALL of the entries to comp.sys.ibm.pc to look for pertinent data prior to dealing with comp.binaries.ibm.pc. From the point of view of a control problem for comp.binaries.ibm.pc, comp.sys.ibm.pc has an extremely high noise (translate that to hitting "n" key nearly forever). A noise level which is too high to be practical. What is really needed (if comp.binaries.ibm.pc is truly be binaries only) is a separate newsgroup like comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d to handle flow control (I can hear the crowd moaning "Oh god not another news group"). Actually, if the "junk" amounting to "discussion" were eliminated from comp.binaries.ibm.pc and the "flow control" (requests, acknowledgments, announcements, etc.) were maintained, I wouldn't mind the burden on the "n" key. Personally, I haven't minded the "junk" at all in comp.binaries.ibm.pc. I have to use the "n" key on a far higher percentage (and number) of articles in this group than that one. Especially when the articles are useless flames and complaints about things I don't give a damn about (one way or the other). --------------- Jerrold L. Gray UUCP:{ihnp4|caip|tektronix|ucbvax}!uw-beaver!tikal!pilchuck!jgray USNAIL: 10525 Willows Road N.E. /C-46 Redmond, Wa. 98052 (206) 881 - 6444 x470 Telex: 15-2167