[comp.lang.c] SNR

ron@eatdust (Ron Schweikert) (06/18/91)

In article <1991Jun17.132947.5296@druid.uucp> darcy@druid.uucp (D'Arcy J.M. Cain) writes:
>In article <SVEN.91Jun16133706@laverne.cs.widener.edu> Sven Heinicke writes:
>>Just to get things straight I was using GNU C too and, of course, got
>>about same errors.
>
>Just recently Doug Gwyn announced that he is leaving comp.lang.c because
>of the SNR in this group.  Hopefully he is just waiting in the wings,
>along with all the other gurus who have been silent lately, watching to
>see if we can get this group under control.  Well here is my contribution.

(Lots of excellent suggestions deleted)

>Above all try to give the impression that you have done your homework
>first.  The best way to give that impression is to have done so.  No one
>owes you an answer so try not to take the help offered for granted.  This
>group should be your last resort, not your first.
>
>Oh, and don't forget the magic words your parents taught you.
>
>BTW, the above suggestions are doubly important for those who want to
>answer a question.
>
>-- 
>D'Arcy J.M. Cain (darcy@druid)     |
>D'Arcy Cain Consulting             |   There's no government
>Toronto, Ontario, Canada           |   like no government!
>+1 416 424 2871                    |

Well, I'll violate my normal posting criteria (I'm one who mostly reads, but
responds by mail rather than posting) and add a bit of SNR for an important
reason:

I concur completely with the above posting!  I urge people to browse this
newsgroup to learn, but only *post* as a *last resort!*  Also, take squabbles
off-line via email.  Let's get this group back to more of a purist discussion
forum.  As a note to readers, if you have a specific question prompted by
someone who posted, respond via email.  I've found people genuinely interested
in helping others.  Use the net only if you think it's of interest to most
everyone.  

I'd like to get Doug Gwynn and other gurus "back in the fold."  By quietly
reading their responses to technical issues, I've learned a lot.  To Doug,
Chris Torek and the many others...thank you for your patience and time.  We'd
like to see you back.

Ron

koerber.sin@sni.de (Mathias Koerber) (06/19/91)

In article <1991Jun17.132947.5296@druid.uucp> darcy@druid.uucp (D'Arcy J.M. Cain) writes:
|In article <SVEN.91Jun16133706@laverne.cs.widener.edu> Sven Heinicke writes:
|>Just to get things straight I was using GNU C too and, of course, got
|>about same errors.
|
|Just recently Doug Gwyn announced that he is leaving comp.lang.c because
|of the SNR in this group.  Hopefully he is just waiting in the wings,
|along with all the other gurus who have been silent lately, watching to
|see if we can get this group under control.  Well here is my contribution.
[contrib deleted]

Maybe we really need a moderated comp.lang.c.wizards, for those questions that
really attract the gurus and human lints out there. 

shaunc@gold.gvg.tek.com (Shaun Case) (06/20/91)

In article <1997@nixsin.UUCP> koerber.sin@sni.de writes:
>Maybe we really need a moderated comp.lang.c.wizards, for those questions that
>really attract the gurus and human lints out there. 

I think that it is high time for such a group.  Moderation is a must; the noise
in CLC is just outrageous.  It's not just questions that are noise either, it
is incorrect answers to FAQs, flames, nits being picked on nits being picked
on nits being picked, etc.  The time has come for comp.lang.c.wizards (moderated.)


-- 
shaunc@gold.gvg.tek.com  

-- 100,000, perhaps 200,000 or more Iraqis died in a "Turkey Shoot"
   inappropriately called a "war."  -- Michael Albert

bhoughto@hopi.intel.com (Blair P. Houghton) (06/21/91)

In article <2574@gold.gvg.tek.com> shaunc@gold.gvg.tek.com (Shaun Case) writes:
>In article <1997@nixsin.UUCP> koerber.sin@sni.de writes:
>>Maybe we really need a moderated comp.lang.c.wizards, for those questions that
>>really attract the gurus and human lints out there. 
>
>I think that it is high time for such a group.
>Moderation is a must; the noise

No, all it does is put the burden of culling valuable
opinion onto the shoulders of one individual, whose
very acceptance of the job would his/her competence
into question.

Far from increasing bandwidth (REAL bandwidth:  the measure
of maximum rate of transmission of INFORMATION through a
channel) it decreases it, and inserts an evaluative/
administrative/bidirectional-transmission delay into the flow.

I've never seen a moderated group that I considered more
than a curiosity.  If you want moderation, send your ideas
to The C Users' Journal (write to:  P.J. Plauger, Senior
Editor, The C Users Journal, 2601 Iowa St., Lawrence, KS
66046; (913) 841-1631) or The Journal of C Language
Translation (Rex Jaeschke, Journal of C Language
Translation, 2051 Swan's Neck Way, Reston, VA  22091; (703)
860-0091).

CUJ has a mid-to-high-level editorial bent, designed
to give valuable information without leaving novice
users in the cold, and tends toward PC-style C without
leaving mini/mainframe C users uninformed.

JOCLT, on the other hand, is a scientific publication
dedicated to the advancement of the understanding,
development, and implementation of compilers (or, more
generally, "translators"), and tends editorially toward
reference and investigative articles.

Comp.lang.c, on the third (and final) hand, is exactly the
place to go to hash out your misunderstandings about your
oft-obscured point of view of the gaggle of languages we
occasionally categorize as C.

Moderating won't help.  It'll just increase the length
of the "Newsgroups:" line.

				--Blair
				  "If you want to learn in the way
				   intelligent people have learned
				   to learn, learn to read the net."