Re: A proposal on how to deal with Inger's posts ...

Eric Stevens <eric.stevens@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:9ails11pe01lguriq3rd76rrbmkagcad4e@xxxxxxx:

> On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:32:09 -0600, Stein R <steinjr@xxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> --- snip ---
>
>> I do that too. I chose to ignore most of Ingers drivel. And most of
>>the followups that people crosspost. But I am also giving you a basic
>>class in how the Usenet is supposed to work, since it seems like you
>>have not understood the difference between crossposting an invitation
>>to take part in a debate and crossposting the debate itself.
>>
>
> The ability to cross-post is almost as old as Usenet and is built into
> the structure of the headers on Usenet messages.
>
> When not abused, cross-posting can be beneficial in that it readily
> involves in a discussion participants with a range of complementary
> fields of interest.

Ever read Brad Templetons satirical "Emily Postnews Answers Your
Questions on Netiquette" from back in the early/mid-90 or so ?

Here is a copy:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/emily-postnews/part1/


Couple of relevant quotes:
-> Original-author: brad@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Brad Templeton)
-> Archive-name: usenet/emily-postnews/part1
-> Last-change: 13 May 1995 by brad@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Brad Templeton)
-> Changes-posted-to: news.misc,news.answers
->
-> **NOTE: this is intended to be satirical. If you do not recognize
-> it as such, consult a doctor or professional comedian. The
-> recommendations in this article should recognized for what
-> they are -- admonitions about what NOT to do.

<snip>

-> ------
-> Q: I saw a long article that I wish to rebut carefully, what should I
-> do?
->
-> A: Include the entire text with your article, particularly the
-> signature, and include your comments closely packed between the
-> lines.
->
-> Be sure to post, and not mail, even though your article looks like
-> a reply to the original. Everybody *loves* to read those long
-> point-by-point debates, especially when they evolve into name-
-> calling and lots of "Is too!" -- "Is not!" -- "Is too, twizot!"
-> exchanges.
->
-> Be sure to follow-up everything, and never let another person
-> get in the last word on a net debate. Why, if people let other
-> people have the last word, then discussions would actually stop!
->
-> Remember, other net readers aren't nearly as clever as you, and
-> if somebody posts something wrong, the readers can't possibly
-> realize that on their own without your elucidations.
->
-> If somebody gets insulting in their net postings, the best
-> response is to get right down to their level and fire a return
-> salvo. When I read one net person make an insulting attack
-> on another, I always immediately take it as gospel unless a
-> rebuttal is posted. It never makes me think less of the
-> insulter, so it's your duty to respond.
->
-> ------
-> Q: How can I choose what groups to post in?
->
-> A: Pick as many as you can, so that you get the widest audience.
-> After all, the net exists to give you an audience. Ignore
-> those who suggest you should only use groups where you think
-> the article is highly appropriate. Pick all groups where
-> anybody might even be slightly interested.
->
-> Always make sure followups go to all the groups. In the rare
-> event that you post a followup which contains something
-> original, make sure you expand the list of groups.
->
-> Never include a "Followup-to:" line in the header, since
-> some people might miss part of the valuable discussion in
-> the fringe groups.

Already back in the mid-90s people were realizing how the minds
of idiots worked. I can't say that the last decade has proved Brad's
sarcastic comments to be wrong ....

Sarcastically yours,
Stein


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