Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!visdc!jiii
From: jiii@visdc.UUCP (John E Van Deusen III)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Recommended changes to netiquette
Message-ID: <455@visdc.UUCP>
Date: 24 Jan 89 18:01:46 GMT
References: <1084@ns.UUCP>
Reply-To: jiii@visdc.UUCP (John E Van Deusen III)
Organization: VI Software Development, Boise, Idaho
Lines: 34

In article <1084@ns.UUCP> John Logajan recommends posting follow-up
articles instead of e-mail responses to interesting questions.  In
addition to the facts he sited, the current etiquette causes a large
number of "I would like that information too" articles to be posted.  
Since the secondary questioners can never be quite sure that everything
is being forwarded; it is likely to prompt another request for
information to the net, and so on.

Since information sent by e-mail is not subject to peer review, as are
usenet articles, the questioner may not get the very best answer that is
possible.  Since netlanders do not become educated, there is a good
chance for an incorrect response to be posted when the question next
appears.

The probability of providing the first correct e-mail response is fairly
small.  The gods of netland, being fairly busy, tend not to bother.  It
then becomes increasingly probable that the questioner won't get a
correct answer.  He or she will then have to post a "I didn't get an
answer to my question" posting.

Mr. Logajan seems to be against "BROADCASTING messages" by the defenders
of the Net.  I believe that is in agreement with "current Netiquette".
The two most flagrant errors, conducting the same discussion in two or
more newsgroups and cross-posting to newsgroups where the material is
irrelevant, are perpetuated because most posters only follow up to
existing articles and know or care little about the arcane headers
utilized by the News software.  I believe that postings by the "Net
police, (Mr. Logajan's term)", that contain the salient quotations,
some enlightened analysis, AND the correct header information, could
bring the discussion into line.  Again, no change of Netiquette.
--
John E Van Deusen III, PO Box 9283, Boise, ID  83707, (208) 343-1865

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