gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) (08/06/87)
I find it odd that people are suggesting that every news admin on
every system should be editing their expire scripts and making multiple
passes over their news file system to "clean up" after a few people
who want "a little more" of your disk space than the rest of the net.
It seems to me that instead, the moderators of comp.*.amiga and
otherrealms should forego the use of Expires: and instead broadcast an
appeal to news admins to go in and edit their expiry scripts by hand so
that these newsgroups will stick around longer.
I'm bothered that the folks who want exceptional treatment are just
quietly "taking" it rather than asking each news admin for it. I think
that the default on this 6800-site network should be that news admins
don't have to do anything to keep their system running OK.
However, it seems that the net has pretty much decided that people
are free to systematically put Expires: lines into their postings.
That's OK by me, I'm willing to conform, and I guess I *will* change
my expire script after all.
[Enter sarcasm:
By the way, I've decided that my postings are more important than
yours, so I am putting a 3-month expiry date on them. I am constantly
getting requests for things that I posted and I have found a solution.
While your words quietly slip off disks all over the world, mine will
remain. I only post a hundred K or so a month, so it will be no great
load on the net. *** I encourage anyone else who reads this to add
their choice of Expires: line to each posting they create, too. ***
Sources moderators, how about expiring your postings in 2 or 3 years,
then we can get rid of the archives, which were always a bother to
maintain, plus consider all the e-mail traffic they generate.
Exit sarcasm, stage left.]
Nothing like fighting anarchy with anarchy, especially when
the net has just hashed it out and decided you have the right.
PS: Now looks like a good time to buy stock in disk manufacturers!
--
{dasys1,ncoast,well,sun,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu gnu@postgres.berkeley.edu
Alt.all: the alternative radio of the Usenet.chuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (08/06/87)
>[Enter sarcasm: >By the way, I've decided that my postings are more important than >yours, so I am putting a 3-month expiry date on them. I am constantly >getting requests for things that I posted and I have found a solution. >While your words quietly slip off disks all over the world, mine will >remain. I only post a hundred K or so a month, so it will be no great >load on the net. *** I encourage anyone else who reads this to add >their choice of Expires: line to each posting they create, too. *** >Sources moderators, how about expiring your postings in 2 or 3 years, >then we can get rid of the archives, which were always a bother to >maintain, plus consider all the e-mail traffic they generate. >Exit sarcasm, stage left.] > >Nothing like fighting anarchy with anarchy, especially when >the net has just hashed it out and decided you have the right. I would point out one significant difference between OtherRealms and John Gilmore. OtherRealms is in one newsgroup, carefully controlled. Gilmore's postings are in a number of different newsgroups. So, if you want to do pre-delete Gilmore's Expire-lengthened articles, you're going to have to go looking for them. At least you know where mine are -- in rec.mag.otherrealms, where they belong. Since the vast majority of net folks and admins on the net disagreed strongly with John, he's going to act like an immature child and try to force people to do it his way anyway. Contrary to what John is implying, the net didn't approve Expires: lines. They approved Expires: lines for OtherRealms. This isn't anarchy, this is terrorism. I'm very disappointed in the way he's reacting. I expected better. chuq Chuq Von Rospach chuq@sun.COM Delphi: CHUQ We live and learn, but not the wiser grow -- John Pomfret (1667-1703)
throopw@xyzzy.UUCP (Wayne A. Throop) (08/08/87)
> gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) > I find it odd that people are suggesting that every news admin on > every system should be editing their expire scripts and making multiple > passes over their news file system to "clean up" after a few people > who want "a little more" of your disk space than the rest of the net. Funny, I didn't hear anybody suggest that. If you want to ignore hints about expiration dates, use the -i switch. That way, you only have to make special-purpose arrangements when you wish to obey expire dates suggested in a newsgroup. For example, if you want to trust the moderator of rec.mag.otherrealms, you remove it from the normal expire and add a special purpose more lenient one. If you don't want to trust the moderator (or the posters if the group in question is not moderated), do nothing (unusual) at all. I've been doing this for a long time, and as the saying goes, "It works for me." In fact, this whole thing strikes me as massivly silly. There is nothing new at all about otherrealms' use of expiration date, and we have been ignoring it anyway (though we may decide to trust it in the future). And John's attempt to show how "dangerous" he can be with the expire line has no effect here, since it occurs in a group we haven't decided to trust. I mean, come *ON* folks, what's the big deal here? -- You're livin' in your own private Idaho. --- the B-52s -- Wayne Throop <the-known-world>!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!throopw