baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) (11/21/89)
I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this purpose? Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov Jet Propulsion Lab M/S 301-355 | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov 4800 Oak Grove Dr. | Pasadena, CA 91109 |
chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (11/21/89)
>I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why >not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this >purpose? you mean, like soc.net-people, but different? -- Chuq Von Rospach <+> Editor,OtherRealms <+> Member SFWA/ASFA chuq@apple.com <+> CI$: 73317,635 <+> [This is myself speaking] All it takes is one thorn to make you forget the dozens of roses on the bush.
shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Mark Shoulson) (11/21/89)
(sorry. I missed the original poster's name) writes: >I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why >not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this >purpose? I may be missing something, but I don't think this will be very helpful. Think about it. Would you read this group regularly, in the hopes that someone out there is looking for you? Of course not! The only time you'd read it is if you had posted and are waiting for a response (and not even then, because your quarry would presumably use e-mail). The way people would try to get in touch with you is to post to newsgroups commonly read or which they think you'd read, because *nobody* is going to just read endless requests for other people. Anyone follow me? Does this make sense? ~mark o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Mark Shoulson: shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu shoulson@cunixc.bitnet {...}!rutgers!columbia!cunixc!shoulson
briang@bari.Sun.COM (Brian Gordon) (11/21/89)
In article <2232@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes: > >I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why >not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this >purpose? As a replacement for, or in addition to, the existing soc.net-people? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Brian G. Gordon briang@Corp.Sun.COM (if you trust exotic mailers) | | ...!sun!bari!briang (if you route it yourself) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
jbaltz@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Jerry B. Altzman) (11/21/89)
In article <2230@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu> shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Mark Shoulson) writes: >(I forget who the original poster is, but..) >>I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why >>not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this >>purpose? NO! No no no no no no no. What an amazing waste of resources. >[mark pans the idea, stating "who would read this group?"] >Anyone follow me? Does this make sense? Yup, and there's one more thing. RFC822 requires sites to have a "postmast/postmaster" alias/id on every system. If your site is even remotely reasonably managed, mail to postmaster should be of some help (even if it is just "try mailing the person a real letter or give him a phone call--he/she doesn't have an account") If it isn't, mail to system or operator or root or something equivalent (anything I'm missing) should get somebody's attention. It beats posting to world asking "is Joe Schmoe out there?" Certainly less bandwidth wasted. When the vote comes, receive my *no*. >~mark >Mark Shoulson: shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu shoulson@cunixc.bitnet > {...}!rutgers!columbia!cunixc!shoulson DISCLAIMER: This isn't Columbia. This is me. Columbia is them. //jbaltz -- jerry b. altzman "We've got to get in to get out" 212 854 3538 jbaltz@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu jauus@cuvmb (bitnet) ...!rutgers!columbia!cunixc!jbaltz (bang!) NEVIS::jbaltz (HEPNET)
chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (11/21/89)
> >I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why > >not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this > >purpose? > > As a replacement for, or in addition to, the existing soc.net-people? I know! We'll create sci.soc-people. It'll be for the discussion of scientific methods of missing people, and besides, it'll have great distribution. -- Chuq Von Rospach <+> Editor,OtherRealms <+> Member SFWA/ASFA chuq@apple.com <+> CI$: 73317,635 <+> [This is myself speaking] All it takes is one thorn to make you forget the dozens of roses on the bush.
davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr) (11/21/89)
In article <2232@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes: | | I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why | not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this | purpose? The group soc.net-people seems to work very well for this. -- bill davidsen (davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen) "The world is filled with fools. They blindly follow their so-called 'reason' in the face of the church and common sense. Any fool can see that the world is flat!" - anon
davidbe@sco.COM (The Cat in the Hat) (11/23/89)
news.groups's own jbaltz@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Jerry B. Altzman) said:
-
-In article <2230@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu> shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Mark Shoulson) writes:
->(I forget who the original poster is, but..)
-
->>I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why
->>not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this
->>purpose?
Because that's what soc.net-people is for. (And should *only* be for...not
for discussions on the plural(s) of alumnus. Sigh...)
-If it isn't, mail to system or
-operator or root or something equivalent (anything I'm missing) should get
-somebody's attention.
-
-It beats posting to world asking "is Joe Schmoe out there?" Certainly less
-bandwidth wasted.
You mean you should mail to every postmaster at every site and ask "is Joe
Schmoe out there"? Talk about wasted bandwith.
-When the vote comes, receive my *no*.
It already exists. There won't be a vote. So get down off your high horse
before it rocks back too far...
--
David Bedno, Systems Administrator, The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Email: davidbe@sco.COM / ..!{uunet,sun,ucbvax!ucscc,gorn}!sco!davidbe
Phone: 408-425-7222 x5123 Disclaimer: Speaking from SCO but not for SCO.
" -- they're normal. terrifyingly, appallingly normal -- like they've gone
through normal and come out the other side." - neil gaiman in _Sandman_ #11gary@sci34hub.UUCP (Gary Heston) (11/23/89)
In article <36668@apple.Apple.COM>, chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
= >I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why
= >not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this
= >purpose?
= you mean, like soc.net-people, but different?
= Chuq Von Rospach <+> Editor,OtherRealms <+> Member SFWA/ASFA
= chuq@apple.com <+> CI$: 73317,635 <+> [This is myself speaking]
= All it takes is one thorn to make you forget the dozens of roses on the bush.
How about a control message, instead? It could scan the sites' /etc/passwd
file, looking for the "missing person"'s real name (the login id would
probably not be a good thing to check for, if you don't know where they
are, you probably don't know it, either). Matching could be done on the
last name, then the first, leaving out middle initials. That would allow
a higher probability of a match (not to mention more responses...).
Then, a email message could be returned to the originator, including
the name field from /etc/passwd with the system name (allowing eyeball
matching on middle initials).
Then, we could expand the concept to allow wildcards in the searched-
for name.... think how many responsed you'd get if you posted
Find-Person-Name: *
Except for the deluge of mail possible from that last line, it's
almost plausible...so I won't crosspost this to rec.humor, yet.
:-)
--
Gary Heston { uunet!sci34hub!gary } System Mismanager
SCI Technology, Inc. OEM Products Department (i.e., computers)
Hestons' First Law: I qualify virtually everything I say.edhew@xenitec.on.ca (Ed Hew) (11/25/89)
In article <2230@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu> shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Mark Shoulson) writes: >(sorry. I missed the original poster's name) writes: > >>I see occasional postings by people trying to locate other people. Why >>not create a new newsgroup called misc.missing.persons just for this >>purpose? > >I may be missing something, but I don't think this will be very helpful. >Think about it. Would you read this group regularly, in the hopes that >someone out there is looking for you? Of course not! The only time you'd >read it is if you had posted and are waiting for a response (and not even >then, because your quarry would presumably use e-mail). The way people >would try to get in touch with you is to post to newsgroups commonly read >or which they think you'd read, because *nobody* is going to just read >endless requests for other people. Short of patching 'rn' (and everyone elses personal favourite newsreader) to force you to read this group before you see anything else, I tend to agree with your comments. I recently found a university acquaintance whom I had not heard from for about 18 years simply by noticing one of his postings. The proposed existance of misc.missing.persons wouldn't have hastened this event one iota for the same reason that soc.net-people doesn't live in my .newsrc either. At close to 9 megs per day and still growing madly, no one I know reads everything. YANG (Yet Another News Group) isn't likely to change that a whole lot. >Anyone follow me? Does this make sense? Perfectly. >Mark Shoulson: shoulson@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu shoulson@cunixc.bitnet > {...}!rutgers!columbia!cunixc!shoulson Ed. A. Hew Authorized Technical Trainer Xeni/Con Corporation work: edhew@xenicon.uucp -or- ..!{uunet!}utai!lsuc!xenicon!edhew ->home: edhew@xenitec.on.ca -or- ..!{uunet!}watmath!xenitec!edhew # This posting has absolutely nothing to do with what I do for a living.