sdo (01/18/83)
Lately I've been seeing many "post-a-question everyone-posts-some-form-of- the-answer" in various newsgroups. In particular, I had to wade through ten of the same reply to a question in net.rec.photo, which I had already replied to by mail. I know everyone needs to prove that they are smart and know the answers, but if the proper procedures are followed, you will get your recognition, and I will be spared reading the same thing over and over. Isn't it proper netiquette to mail answers to the originator who then posts a collection of responses? This person can include the names of all those who responded so that they get their credit. I'm only talking about the narrow case of a specific question being asked, such as "What were the words to that theme song for that TV show in 1962?" or "How do I kill a Troll with just an dart?" Anything which doesn't have a clear answer or needs some discussion or presents some safety issue should remain public. Since this may need some discussion, please use net.followup for non-trivial, non-defamatory, flameless replies. The rest you can mail to me. (And, yes, I thought this was important enough for net.general.) Scott Orshan Bell Labs Piscataway 201-981-3064 houxm!u1100a!sdo