phoenix@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA (John H. Johnson) (07/27/85)
[Friends, Netters, Countrypeople - lend me your ears...]
[What's in the bag?]
[Ears!]
(Boo, hisssss...)
Good Morning, Everyone!
As you all (obviously) know, we now HAVE net.bizarre. We not only
won, we did so without a fight. The create group came from spaf@gatech,
keeper of the lists himself(For those of you unaware of his position).
It was the sheer numbers, and the reasonable follow-up postings, that brought
things around so quickly - so painlessly. So again, whether for mailing
your opinion, or posting in the discussion, I thank each of you for all
of us(^If^ I may be so bold...). By the way, I have received mail from more
than 90 people at this point - Amazing....
BUT.... It is far from over. If we want to avoid the wrath of the wizards, AND
the fate of such groups as net.jokes.wade-through-the-muck, there are a few
*simple* guidelines we need all try to follow which should *not* interefere
with the body of your posting in any way, shape, form, or other multi-
dimensional space. I put forward the following for your perusal:
1) Bizarreness: We all have differant opinions on what is or is
not bizarre, so we must leave discretion up to the poster. But if
we weigh the group down with filler and little meat, people will
lose interest *fast*. This is where the responsibility lies. A
good gauge is simply the question: Will this ^fit^ in another
group? Chances are if it will, it won't fit in net.bizarre.
2) Taste: This is another relative concept. In this case I am
referring to postings specifically meant to offend. This should
not be taken as censorship of things erotic, or stomach turning,
or even violent, if thier main purpose is the bizarre (Though,
you *may* want to ROT13 as you near that border...{:-) ). However,
it ^does^ refer to items whose main purpose is to offend, disgust,
outrage, etc. The things that are truly tasteless generally have
one(or more) of these as thier purpose. Stick to the correct,
purposes, and we should have few problems.
3) Cross-posting: This is the ultimate sin, and one for which people
will be watching. If it is BIZARRE enough to be posted to
net.bizarre, there is no reason it *should* go anywhere else.
There is no way of emphasizing this enough - we received our
first warning in the create message from spaf@gatech. Please,
let us ^heed^ it.
A final note on wading through the muck: Hopefully we can keep
followups to a minimum so we don't have another group to 'n' through.
* * * * * * * * *
We all know these, so please do not take offense in my listing them.
There is an advantage to having them spelled out clearly and concisely in one
place. A discussion is going on by mail concerning preservation of this
group - if you wish to join it, send me some mail. This is the last *normal*
posting I wish to see in net.bizarre for quite a while.... [:-}]
I leave you now, dear friends, with this final thought to consider:
Net.bizarre can provide us with an unusually wide spectrum of experience.
We have a rare opportunity for a group with a ^special^ difference -
let's surprise some people!
I will now, quietly, fade away... [...do you ^believe^ what you read?]
Most humbly,
John H. Johnson
Coordinator - Save Net.Bizarre.
P.S. If you mailed and did not hear back from
me, I am sorry. I tried, but some paths
are a little too strange....
P.P.S. It's early morning - what did you expect?
0 0 (Crises?.... What Crises?)
^
\_/ John
Phoenix@ucbtopaz ucbvax!ucbtopaz!phoenix