Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bbn!rochester!srs!matt
From: matt@srs.UUCP (Matt Goheen)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: who carries what?
Message-ID: <785@srs.UUCP>
Date: 9 Apr 88 18:35:11 GMT
References: <3720@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> <1988Apr6.171345.3827@sq.uucp> <2216@inco.UUCP>
Reply-To: srs!matt@cs.rochester.edu (Matt Goheen)
Distribution: na
Organization: S.R. Systems, Rochester NY
Lines: 47

In article <2216@inco.UUCP> mack@inco.UUCP (Dave Mack) writes:
>I find it extremely annoying that the Backbone Cabal (and the recent
>soc.sex fiasco makes it appear that there is one) refuses to create
>a legitimately requested newsgroup. The rationale for this action was
>that a) the name of the newsgroup would be offensive to many people,
>and b) that many of them would not carry a group specifically devoted
>to sexual matters regardless of the name.

I get so sick of this argument.  How can anyone think that they have a
"right" to create a group on someone else's machine?  The machines (and
companies) in the backbone devote a great deal of their money and
resources to supporting Usenet, and no one has any right whatsoever to
dictate what they should or shouldn't carry on them.  Many administrators
fear that if they get "caught" carrying such silly groups (silly defined
here as "not directly related to or beneficial to your job") as
soc.{sex,boink,hammer,etc} that they will lose ALL Usenet access.

So, you and your buddy are driving to work in your nice new sleek van.  You
stop at the local Stop-and-Pay-Lotsa-Cash store to grab a low-calorie,
artificially flavored, artificially colored carcinogenic diet beverage.
You come back to find ten people piled in the back.

"What's going on?", you ask.

"Well, we decided you should take us all to work", a stranger replies.

"Huh?", you stumble.

"Well, you're already taking HIM to work, aren't you?", he says, pointing to
your friend.

"But, it's MY van", you squeek.

"Too bad", he replies, "we've got the majority here".

"Well", you say to yourself, "I guess I can take them to work, it's not too
far out of my way".  "OK", you say.

"By the way", the stranger continues, "we're going to soc.boink back here..."


Silly -- yes.  But it's not the only thing that is...wake up...

-- 
- uucp:		{rutgers,ames}!rochester!srs!matt	Matt Goheen 	-
- maybe-net:	matt@srs.uucp				S.R. Systems	-
- 	"We built some good machines, but they don't work no more."	-