Re: TRAIN WRECK!!!

From: Bill Meyers (orion_at_aol.com)
Date: 03/14/05 

Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 21:52:07 -0500

Davoud,
     My commnet about a train wreck stung, and (to mix the metaphor
further!) people are rallying around the flag, which is a good thing.
Maybe SAA can be rescued.
      One thing SAA has going for it is its size. It reaches a vast
number of people, probably far more than any other forum.
       Another plus is that there are about three dozen very worthwhile
frequent posters, of whom at least a dozen are experts of one sort or
another, either optical or observational.
       There is no doubt in my mind that we have experienced a train
wreck in the form of a flood (another mixed metaphor) of off topic and
spammed postings. The signal to noise ratio is very much higer in the
moderated forums. They are therefore easier and pleasanter to read.
       Somc of the moderated forums seem to be owned by manufacturers,
who may impose censorhip, or managed by enthusiasts who screen out
dissident voices. But many have owners or moderators who are quite
independent. Many of our SAA experts also post on these other forums so
they are available there also.
       The other forums are much more civil, with no name-calling or
other slurs.
       I agree very much with Howard Lester's comment in this thread
lamentng the large number of truly excellent posters who have left,
tiring of the spam, the off-topic political and religious posts, and the
lack of civility in some of the on-topic posts.
        I have read SAA for many years and have posted here much of that
time and have some good friends here, soee excellent people, but I have
noticed the flood of spqm and off topic posts. It was so much better in
the days when we had only Min and Shawn to contend with.
         I have been sorry to see us go in the direction of sci.astro,
which was destroyed by the kinds of posts we see appearing here. If my
comment stirs people to take action to preserve SAA, I am glad I made it
and I don't mind the flak it elicied.
         We used to be the premier amateur astronomy forum on the
Internet, and it would be great if we could recover that position.
Bill Meyers

Davoud wrote:

> Martin R. Howell:
>
>
>>Below is a post which Bill Meyers submitted to Astromart's "Equipment Talk"
>>forum on 3/2/05. The subject of the post is "How about informative titles
>>for posts?" I hope that the referenced calamity produced no serious
>>injuries. My eyes do appear to be somewhat bruised but I don't seem to
>>suffer any gashes and have no broken bones.
>>
>>snip>>
>>Come on, guys, shape up! This is a great forum. Let's keep it that way.
>>Look at what happened to sci.astro.amateur, which used to be the premium
>>forum and now is, in the words of one poster, a train wreck. (end of rant).
>><<unsnip
>
>
> I think that rumors of SAA's death are somewhat exaggerated. Looking at
> the latest posts, I see Trapezium, Sidereal Time, Microfiche Lenses for
> use in positive astroprojection, Observing Projects, "A weight matter"
> (telescope balance), Advanced Astromaster problem, Antares Occultation
> Report, Konus 150 refractor, and other stuff that interests me to
> varying degrees.
>
> I won't read "CNN tanking as Fox News surges" from "Anonymous" because
> it has Min the Psychopath written all over it. Not only will I not read
> it, but I won't worry about its presence.
>
> What I don't see are any broken locomotives or wrecked tank cars
> spilling noxious chemicals around my computer :->
>
> Davoud

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