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From: tim@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: news.groups,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Comp.Sys.Mac reorg -- 2/23/90 update
Message-ID: <10720@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: 9 Mar 90 14:42:30 GMT
References: <38902@apple.Apple.COM> <38904@apple.Apple.COM> <710@dino.cs.iastate.edu> <10522@hoptoad.uucp> <1628.25ee76c8@csc.anu.oz> <2839@stl.stc.co.uk> <0Y22XFDxds13@ficc.uu.net>
Reply-To: tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
Organization: Eclectic Software, San Francisco
Lines: 25

In article <0Y22XFDxds13@ficc.uu.net> peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes:
>> >(Stuff about the way that the proposed split will just degenerate, so that 
>> >we will have to check all of the new groups anyway.)
>
>Unfortunately for this theory existing comp.sys splits don't bear this out.
>For example, tossing comp.sys.amiga and comp.sys.amiga.hardware leaves me
>with a worthwhile groups with an acceptable volume and signal-to-noise ratio.

Yes, of course.  Again, I don't see you trying to look at the social
factors involved.  The problem happens when the groups have largely
overlapping readerships.  This is the distinction between major and
minor divisions I was making.  No one but programmers reads
comp.sys.mac.programmer, so there's not a major overlap problem.  The
proposed maze of Mac groups will, however, have largely overlapping
readerships, and experience proves that in these cases people will not
distinguish one group from another very well when deciding where to put
their messages.
-- 
Tim Maroney, Mac Software Consultant, sun!hoptoad!tim, tim@toad.com

"The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.
 The lust of the goat is the bounty of God.
 The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God.
 The nakedness of woman is the work of God."
    - Blake, "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"