pat@pyuxqq.UUCP (09/20/83)
I'm sure that I'll receive millions of flames from irate usenet readers, but
I'll propose it anyway. (with my finger poised over the 'd' for mail reading)
I think that all the wrong approach is being taken by trying to keep
commercial news off the net. A more reasonable approach would be to channel
it to a place that all who don't want to see it could unsubscribe. Yes, I
know we already have a million newsgroups, but I'm asking for a million and 1.
I think there should be a net.review.type, where people could post articles
reviewing or critiqueing (sp?) specific products of a given type could be
sent. So a net.review.hw for hardware and a net.review.sw for software would
be a good start. This shouldn't be used to list all the products of company
X, but an analysis of a specific product company X sells. This would be a
great way to centralize commercial news, and free net.micro etc. from this
kind of stuff. And it could be not forwarded to Arpa so they don't scream.
Well, all you out there in netland, what do you think?????? My asbestos
armor is on (what level in the dungeon does that appear? so flame away, I'd
like to see such a group.
Pat Iurilli BTL Piscataway, NJ {ihnp4, harpo}!pyuxqq!patlaura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (09/21/83)
the problem with this discussion is that there are A LOT of commercial sites on the net, and a LOT of poor ones. this is what I would see happening. Frozzbozz magic gizmo company posts something saying that their gizmo is the most wonderful thing to ever have been designed in all of Lower Slugabode. The Gimble fantastic gizmo company posts news describing why Frozzbozz's is a crock, and why theirs is the neatest and most wonderful gizmo. laura at utcsstat, posts news about why the hrdware buying turkeys decided to get us a Frozzbozz and a Gible gizmo, that they are BOTH crocks, and crash utcsstat at a new, unprecidented rate. (look folks, we are up 10% of the time!!) and how all the designers of lower Slugabode should be sent back to the Lower Slugabode school for rotten engineers. the aforementioned rotten engineers decide to sue laura at utcsstat for telling the world what awful crocks they are foisting on the public. Suddenly USENET is big news. AND... poor sites decide to drop advertising newsgroups. Unfortunately they may decide to drop most or all newsgroups. some companies decide to drop usenet since it is obviously an organ of 'so-and-so magic company'. some sites decide to drop out because they will not service traffic from their competitors. people decide to post to net.general,net.misc,net.unix-wizards,net.periphs, and net.salespitch.frozzbozz. BOOM. We now have advertising on the ARPAnet, via net.unixwizards. Boy will there be a big stink about it! Enough stink to close the unixwizards gateway permanently, I think. there probably is enough interest for a commercial network, but I think that it should be an entirely separate network. Laura Creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura