[news.groups] Newsgroup Voting

jeffd@ficc.uu.net (jeff daiell) (04/05/89)

The theme "let those who pay the bills be the [only] ones
who decide" has great appeal to my proprietarian soul ...
until I remember that they have the option of thumbing up
or down on every group for their own sites -- and limiting
the 'franchise', as it were, to them lets them decide for
everyone else.  (And no puns about a cabal-and-chain,
please!)

So I revert to my default attitude: diffuse the decision-
making, and make it as easy as practical for those who
want a particular group created to have it created.

Para un Tejas Libre,

Jeff Daiell


-- 
  If a hungry man has water, and a thirsty man has bread,
  Then if they trade, be not dismayed, they both come out ahead.

                                   -- Don Paarlberg

erict@flatline.UUCP (J. Eric Townsend) (04/05/89)

In article <3682@ficc.uu.net> jeffd@ficc.uu.net (jeff daiell) writes:
>So I revert to my default attitude: diffuse the decision-
>making, and make it as easy as practical for those who
>want a particular group created to have it created.


Wait.  You think that people who don't lift a finger to help support
the net (via ownership, writing of software, paying of phone bills)
should be able to tell the people that *do* support the net what to
do?

Ok, how about this:  My vote, as site admin, counts for n non-admin
votes.  1/2 :-).
-- 
J. Eric Townsend | "Type 'make'.  If you get errors, stop and fix them."
 uunet!sugar!flatline!erict |  -- Eric S. Raymond, in TMNN documentation.  
bellcore!texbell!/            511 Parker #2    |EastEnders Mailing List:
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jeffd@ficc.uu.net (jeff daiell) (04/05/89)

In article <467@flatline.UUCP>, erict@flatline.UUCP (J. Eric Townsend) writes:
> In article <3682@ficc.uu.net> jeffd@ficc.uu.net (Jeff Daiell) writes:
> >diffuse the decision-
> >making, and make it as easy as practical for those who
> >want a particular group created to have it created.
> 
> 
> Wait.  You think that people who don't lift a finger to help support
> the net (via ownership, writing of software, paying of phone bills)
> should be able to tell the people that *do* support the net what to
> do?

Nope -- and your claim that my proposal would bring that about is
misleading.  The current system doesn't force you to carry
any particular group, does it?  No -- and neither would mine.

Para un Tejas Libre,

Jeff Daiell



-- 
  If a hungry man has water, and a thirsty man has bread,
  Then if they trade, be not dismayed, they both come out ahead.

                                   -- Don Paarlberg

sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bob Sloane) (04/06/89)

In article <467@flatline.UUCP>, erict@flatline.UUCP (J. Eric Townsend) writes:
> Wait.  You think that people who don't lift a finger to help support
> the net (via ownership, writing of software, paying of phone bills)
> should be able to tell the people that *do* support the net what to
> do?
> 
> Ok, how about this:  My vote, as site admin, counts for n non-admin
> votes.  1/2 :-).

Let me see if I understand. As a news administrator here at KU, I spend some
time maintaining feeds and supporting the news software, etc, so I am
"supporting" the net, but back before we got any news software, and I just
spent my time answering questions on comp.os.vms (and asking them, too) I
WASN'T supporting the net?  I guess all those pesky people who contribute
their time and effort to posting articles should just go away and quit
bothering all us hard working news admins :-) :-) :-).  That would sure
solve the problem.  ( no flame intended, I am joking, really.)

Let's not lose track of the purpose of usenet and news (oh no, another guy
pretending to know the Purpose of Usenet :-), which is to provide a means
of exchanging ideas between people. I put in the time, and KU pays the bills
because people want the information that is provided by usenet.  My guess
is that the majority of the information comes from non-admins.  That makes
them just as important to the net as I am, and probaby more important.
+-------------------+-------------------------------------+------------------+
|  Bob Sloane        \Internet: SLOANE@KUHUB.CC.UKANS.EDU/Anything I said is |
|  Computer Center    \ BITNET: SLOANE@UKANVAX.BITNET   / my opinion, not my |
|  University of Kansas\  AT&T: (913) 864-0444         /  employer's.        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------+----------------------+

campbell@redsox.UUCP (Larry Campbell) (04/07/89)

In article <4570@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bob Sloane) writes:
-                                                            ...  My guess
-is that the majority of the information comes from non-admins.  That makes
-them just as important to the net as I am, and probaby more important.

The problem with this analysis is that most of the dreck also comes from
non-admins.
-- 
Larry Campbell                          The Boston Software Works, Inc.
campbell@bsw.com                        120 Fulton Street
wjh12!redsox!campbell                   Boston, MA 02146

erict@flatline.UUCP (J. Eric Townsend) (04/08/89)

In article <4570@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bob Sloane) writes:
>Let me see if I understand. As a news administrator here at KU, I spend some
>time maintaining feeds and supporting the news software, etc, so I am
>"supporting" the net, but back before we got any news software, and I just
>spent my time answering questions on comp.os.vms (and asking them, too) I
>WASN'T supporting the net? :-)

Actually, I think there's some truth in what you said.  By being
a comp.os.vms guru, you were helping other vms boneheads :-) deal
with a bogus os. :-).  If the news at your site went down, all you
had to do was bug the sysadmin, and they'd fix it.  Now you're responsible
for seeing that news is functioning for the x users at your site that
want to use Usenet.  If it goes down, they come whining to you.
You're in a position or responsibility, not only to your users, but
to your usenet neighbors.  As a comp.os.vms person, you were responsible
for yourself.


-- 
J. Eric Townsend | "Enter, oh seeker of knowledge... That's *YOU*, fathead!"
 uunet!sugar!flatline!erict 
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