curts (11/06/82)
Flame on!
I enjoy reading *NEWS* about many subjects. I enjoy reading arguments used in
the *DEBATE* of only a few subjects. For more than a year, I have been reading
UUCP articles. Now, I find that many people seem to be more interested in
expressing opinions on controversial issues than in providing me with
information. Some are even going on at *great length* to support some argument
that they consider significant.
I believe in free speech. However, I also feel that I have the right to walk
away from any person that is being too free with speech.
Unfortunately, some of you are making it difficult for me to walk away from
the issues that *you* would like to debate. OK. I like to argue as much, if
not more, than anyone that I know. Still, I don't corner people and insist
that they listen to my wild ravings.
Would all of you please be a little more careful in your use of the net.
Identify your arguments as arguments. Preface your contributions to a debate
by entering the word "debate" in your subject header. When I have time, I
will join in the debate of these significant issues. Meanwhile, I can go
on exchanging information and *NEWS* with other people on the net.
Flame off!
Curt Stephens
Tektronix
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
UUCP: ...!{ucbvax or decvax}!teklabs!tekmdp!curts
CSNET: tekmdp!curts @ tektronix
ARPA: tekmdp!curts.tektronix @ udel-relayfranka (11/06/82)
#R:azure:-144200:tekcad:1800001:000:1525
tekcad!franka Nov 6 01:04:00 1982
***** tekcad:net.general / azure!curts / 4:41 pm Nov 5, 1982
Flame on!
I enjoy reading *NEWS* about many subjects. I enjoy reading arguments used in
the *DEBATE* of only a few subjects. For more than a year, I have been reading
UUCP articles. Now, I find that many people seem to be more interested in
expressing opinions on controversial issues than in providing me with
information. Some are even going on at *great length* to support some argument
that they consider significant.
I believe in free speech. However, I also feel that I have the right to walk
away from any person that is being too free with speech.
Unfortunately, some of you are making it difficult for me to walk away from
the issues that *you* would like to debate. OK. I like to argue as much, if
not more, than anyone that I know. Still, I don't corner people and insist
that they listen to my wild ravings.
Would all of you please be a little more careful in your use of the net.
Identify your arguments as arguments. Preface your contributions to a debate
by entering the word "debate" in your subject header. When I have time, I
will join in the debate of these significant issues. Meanwhile, I can go
on exchanging information and *NEWS* with other people on the net.
Flame off!
Curt Stephens
Tektronix
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
UUCP: ...!{ucbvax or decvax}!teklabs!tekmdp!curts
CSNET: tekmdp!curts @ tektronix
ARPA: tekmdp!curts.tektronix @ udel-relay
----------franka (11/06/82)
#R:azure:-144200:tekcad:1800002:000:268 tekcad!franka Nov 6 01:07:00 1982 Sorry about accidently resubmitting the previous article to the net. I was going to edit it and respond, but unfortunately, I'm not used to the notesfile interface quite yet. Again, my apologies. Frank Adrian (teklabs!tekcad!franka) Tektronix, Inc.
franka (11/06/82)
#R:azure:-144200:tekcad:1800003:000:2204 tekcad!franka Nov 6 01:38:00 1982 Well, anyway, about my response on azure!curts note on wishing to be warned about that evil of the airwaves, debate on the net. He says that he doesn't mind people debating topics, but he reserves the right to walk away. That's fine. But asking people to put in their headers a message to the affect that this is a debate is going a bit too far. When he encounters people discussing something in public, does he go up to them and ask them to hang signs around their necks saying, "I am involved in a debate which you may not want to listen in on?" The net is an open forum for free discussion of ideas and topics of the day (and even technical issues at times). I suggest that anyone who cares to eavesdrop on public conversation deserves what he gets. Perhaps he feels that paging through a few notes of worthless debates is a horrible waste of his time (how long does it take the tty driver to write out a page anyway, 10-15 seconds, even at 1200 baud). If that is true, maybe he should limit his .newsrc file to let through only the purely technical groups such as net.uucp, net.unix-wizards, etc. Lets face it folks, the net is probably only 30% technical content at most. If you were THAT concerned about your time, you would appoint a full time news censor to screen articles and have the uucp-joined organi- zations contribute to his salary (it would probably only cost each organi- zation pennies a day and save a hell of a lot in phone charges). If you want a truly open net, then be prepared to pay the price. Personally, I could care less about the technical content of the net (what do I care if some Bozo from Indian Hill wants a driver for their RK07). I feel that the subscription of my company to the net is a personal benefit in the same vein as an insurance or pension plan. I really don't see a technical benefit to most people on the net except to the hard core unix-wizards out there. Well, I think I've flamed enough for one night. I'm sorry if I have taken up so much of your VALUBLE technically fufilled time. Wishing that the people who worried about flames on the net would go join a boring net like CSnet, Frank A. Adrian (decvax!teklabs!tekcad!franka)