[net.ham-radio] net.ham-radio.packet - how Usenet works

netnews@wnuxb.UUCP (Heiby) (06/19/85)

In article <460@mtunh.UUCP> jak@mtunh.UUCP (Jim Kutsch) writes:
>I do not understand why this is of such interest to all those who  don't
>read  net.ham-radio  in  the  first place!!!
>
>Rhetorical  question:  why  does *EVERYTHING* on Usenet have to generate
>50Kb of net traffic before  anything  can  be  done?

I understand the meaning of "rhetorical", but these points deserve to be
explained for those on the net who are in Jim's position of not understanding
how Usenet works.  The reason why many of us who do not read net.ham-radio
are interested in new newsgroups is that many of us have to administer
netnews on our machines, and in some cases hold the net together with spit
and bailing wire.  If people went off and created newsgroups on a whim,
utter confusion would result (even more than already exists).  There is
a procedure established for creation of new newsgroups (yes, even just
sub-divisions, remember that net.ham-radio is "just a sub-division" of net.)
which is documented in articles posted to net.announce.newusers.  If
someone doesn't like the procedure, then s/he should work to change it,
but it should still be followed in the mean time.  If you read the procedure,
you will see that if the procedure had been followed by all concerned, that
the traffic generated would have been at most A) a solicitation of interest,
B) some direct mail traffic, C) an announcement of results, and D) a newgroup
message.  That really isn't much.  Ok, now let's all re-read (for the first
time?) the messages in net.announce.newusers and not post anything else until
we have.  If someone doesn't get that newsgroup, contact your netnews admin.
If you are the netnews admin and don't know how to fix it, let me know.  Thanks.
-- 
Ronald W. Heiby / netnews@wnuxb.UUCP | unix-request@cbosgd.UUCP
AT&T Information Systems, Inc., Lisle, IL  (CU-D21)

smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin) (06/20/85)

Uh, Ron -- Jim Kutsch has been active on the net for a *long* time; he's
probably as well-acquainted with its history, purpose, and function as
anyone.