Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bfmny0!tneff
From: tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: Most useless postings in news.all
Message-ID: <15192@bfmny0.UU.NET>
Date: 22 Feb 90 19:11:38 GMT
References: <1990Feb19.191033.19902@hayes.fai.alaska.edu> <49@newave.UUCP>
Reply-To: tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff)
Lines: 14

Catering to aficionados of long-winded post-athon threads and flame wars
means catering to that which is WORST about Usenet.

Even where the 'most frequently cited' list is meaningful, it's pernicious.

If someone wanted to start a mail based voting daemon that took votes on
the most VALUABLE postings, as decided by individual readers (a filter
script that passed the ID to mail wouldn't be hard to write and
distribute), then the daemon could post a 20 MOST VALUABLE list
periodically.

This would reward the folks who post ONE article full of vital, useful
info (the kind that NEEDS no followup), which is the primary cost
justification for carrying this mess in the first place.