ken@turtlevax.UUCP (Ken Turkowski) (03/18/85)
One of the real time-savers in network news is the ability to look at
the title of an article and decide from that whether to read the
article. Certain newsgroups have titles so boring, I'd NEVER look into
them:
mod.std.c/40 mod.std.c Digest Volume 4 : Issue 10
mod.std.c/41 mod.std.c Digest Volume 4 : Issue 11
mod.std.c/42 mod.std.c Digest Volume 4 : Issue 12
mod.std.c/43 mod.std.c Digest Volume 4 : Issue 13
mod.std.c/44 mod.std.c Digest Volume 4 : Issue 14
mod.std.c/45 mod.std.c Digest Volume 4 : Issue 15
mod.unix/21 Unix Technical Digest V1 #21
mod.unix/22 Unix Technical Digest V1 #22
mod.unix/23 Unix Technical Digest V1 #23
mod.unix/24 Unix Technical Digest V1 #24
mod.unix/25 Unix Technical Digest V1 #25
mod.unix/26 Unix Technical Digest V1 #26
mod.unix/27 Unix Technical Digest V1 #27
Why is it so hard to come up with titles for these articles?
Other newsgroups seem to have no such problems:
mod.map.uucp/16 Distribution machines for UUCP map
mod.newslists/70 Arpanet List-of-Lists
mod.newslists/71 List of Sites by Organization Name
mod.newslists/72 List of Active Newsgroups
mod.newslists/73 Changes in active groups since last posting
mod.newslists/74 List of Moderators
mod.singles/33 Re: finding your birthparents
mod.singles/34 Re: Multiple relationships.
mod.sources/45 XLISP 1.4 part 1 (of 4)
mod.sources/46 XLISP 1.4 CANCELLED (and an apology)
I would think that it is possible for the moderators to group
discussions with the same subject together in the same digest, to make
it possible for us to weed through unwanted articles.
--
Ken Turkowski @ CADLINC, Menlo Park, CA
UUCP: {amd,decwrl,nsc,seismo,spar}!turtlevax!ken
ARPA: turtlevax!ken@DECWRL.ARPAosd@hou2d.UUCP (Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz) (03/19/85)
This is not the first time someone points out the generality
of the subject line for mod.std.c, for example. As the
moderator of that group let me state the following:
1. I'm following standard practice as established in ARPANET.
One reason for this is that the digest goes to ARPA also, and
the volume and number is the best way to reference articles accross
nets. Since I keep an archive, it is easy to find a reference that
way.
2. If you use readnews 2.10+ there is a feature that allows you to
scan what the topics for discussion in a digest are. Instead
of replying 'y', reply 'd' to a digested article. This will print
a table of contents, and then lets you read a message at a time,
and skip messages you might not be interested in. If your news
reading software doesn't allow you to do this, switch to readnews
for those articles that come in digests.
3. Grouping - sounds good but I still haven't found it to be practical.
Since I do this as a volunteer, I find that this will just increase
my workload, so I do it when it is easy. However, I still must keep
the subject line you complain about, mostly for the reasons in 1 above.
If you have any comments about how groups are moderated, mail to:
cbosgd!moderators
Hope this helps.
--
Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz /AT&T Bell Laboratories, Red Hill Road
/Middletown, New Jersey, 07748 (HR 1B 316)
Tel: 201-949-9230 /UUCP: {{{ucbvax,decvax}!}{ihnp4,harpo}!}hou2d!osd