royle@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (keenan royle) (12/05/89)
This is a call for votes for the group: alt.folklore.computers Every year hundreds of posts are generated asking questions about something out of the history of computing. Many more postings contain the a few right answers and lots more wrong answers. I can not think of any other feild that has been around for such a short period and has such a rich set of folk stories and legends. I think this topic deserves its own group. How many times have you heard the questions: o What was the NASA flight that blew up because of a mistyped punctuation in a Fortram program? o What is the real origin of the term "bug". Don't you have any stories to share about: o Exploding card readers. o Software thrashing hardware to the point of overheating and erupting flames. So what does everyone think? I know as an alt group this does not really need a formal vote and discussion but I would like some feedback.
cathyf@rice.edu (Catherine A. Foulston) (12/05/89)
In article <30845@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> royle@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (keenan royle) writes: > [there are lots of legends about computers] > >I think this topic deserves its own group. > > [examples of the kind of stuff people post over and over in groups > where it is inappropriate] > >So what does everyone think? I don't know if it deserves its own group - I think giving it a group will only encourage the dissemination of completely untrue stories. It seems to me that it will be rather repetetive. But then, this will probably happen no matter what, and it would be worth it if it kept the bimonthly-or-so "hey, let's all post our favorite computer [funny/horror/stupidity] stories" thread out of rec.humor and various other inappropriate places. And it would hardly be the first Usenet group that had the same discussions over and over every few months as new people discovered the net. I say go for it. __________________ From reading news.groups and news.admin, I know there are a number of news admins who are about ready to give up on carrying alt at all. Every new alt group that they perceive as stupid or useless drives them a step closer to putting !alt.all in their sys files. I wonder what those admins would think of this group? I wonder if anyone in alt should care? I mean, it's true that the whole point of alt is that those who don't like it can ignore it and refuse to carry it, while those who do carry it can administer it without worrying about what the rest of the net thinks, whether a group can get enough votes, etc.etc. But is there a point where one should say, "Stop, this is silly, no one will carry alt if it does this"? [I don't suggest that this is true of the above-discussed group.] If alt consisted only of alt.stupidity, alt.tasteless, alt.sex.carasso.snuggles, and alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork, I wouldn't carry it either. And there are a lot of news admins who perceive alt that way, who miss the better things happening in alt. They don't see the freedom, or the good things that come from it. All they see is the alt.stupidity. So how about it? Should alt EVER consider what the rest of the net will think, or does that compromise the purpose of alt? Cathy Foulston cathyf@rice.edu usenet@rice.edu wait, don't start yet, I have to find my asbestos suit.
tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff) (12/06/89)
I would like to propose a guidelines change: Let every "yes" vote POSTED
AS AN ARTICLE count as TEN "no" votes, and vice versa.
Make net.dimwittedness hurt a little and it'll go away a lot faster.
--
Canada -- a few acres of snow. ^v^v^ Tom Neff
-- Voltaire v^v^v tneff@bfmny0.UU.NETdglo@deimos.ADS.COM (Dave Glowacki) (12/06/89)
In article <14980@bfmny0.UU.NET> tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff) writes: >I would like to propose a guidelines change: Let every "yes" vote POSTED >AS AN ARTICLE count as TEN "no" votes, and vice versa. > >Make net.dimwittedness hurt a little and it'll go away a lot faster. Oh boy! You mean I can post a "no" vote for my favorite new group proposal and get TEN "yes" votes? What a GREAT idea!!! -- Dave Glowacki dglo@ads.com Advanced Decision Systems