Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!delta!jester!peters
From: peters@jester.cc.msstate.edu (Frank W. Peters)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Moderating rec.arts.cinema
Message-ID: <292@delta.cs.msstate.edu>
Date: 14 Jan 90 05:57:27 GMT
References: <10954@attctc.Dallas.TX.US>
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Organization: Mississippi State University, Starkville
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In article <5246@buengc.BU.EDU> bph@buengc.bu.edu (Blair P. Houghton) writes:
>I would be much more comfortable with something that resembles
>comp.unix.wizards, where the sheer inapproachability of the
>discussions keep the neophytes and lurkers out of print

Hmmmm.  Last fall on comp.unix.wizards someone asked how to tell a wizard...
which led to a discussion of how to pronounce 'vi' which led to a discussion
of how to pronounce various other unix commands...which led to a discussion
of how to pronounce '*'...which eventually led to a bunch of flames about
the fact that none of this was appropriate to comp.unix.wizards...which led
to flames that these people should lighten up...and so on.  The thread lasted
for hundreds of messages.  All of this resulted from a single message that
actually posed a reasonable and appropriate question (how does a company
with no unix experts recognize such an expert to hire him).

I think comp.unix.wizards is a good example of why r.a.c *should* be
moderated.  Remember, even discussions that start appropriately can go
astray.  A competent moderator can be a tremendous help in getting such
a thread back on track.

Frank W. Peters        Systems Programmer     Computing Center & Services
peters@CC.MsState.Edu  Peters@MsState.Bitnet  (601)325-2942
"I can't give you brains, but I can give you a diploma." -- The Wizard of OZ