mack@inco.UUCP (Dave Mack) (09/26/89)
I've just sent out a global newgroup for alt.sys.sun, an alternative group for the discussion of Sun Microsystems' products. This is an unmoderated group intended to provide a "fast channel" for people seeking information about Sun machines. It will inevitably be a bit noisy, but this seems to be the price we have to pay for quick response. Comp.sys.sun provides an interesting example of the perils of moderated groups. Historically, it has taken two to three weeks for a submitted article to appear in comp.sys.sun, if it appeared at all. This means that posting to c.s.s when you have a problem that needs to be solved right away is futile. In addition, given the turnaround time, it makes little sense to post an answer to someone else's question ; it will take another two to three weeks before they see it. Thus, most of the answers are emailed to the article's author, along with the inevitable spate of "Please email me the answers you to get to this" messages. The result is that most c.s.s postings are questions - answers are few and far between. Perhaps alt.sys.sun, despite its limited distribution, will provide more wheat as well as more chaff. -- Dave Mack mack@inco.uu.net -- Dave Mack McDonnell Douglas Electronic Systems uunet!inco!mack, inco%mack@uunet.uu.net (703)883-3911 All opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect those of MDESC. Ever.