[no subject]

I will admit that the Apple 2 community has been greatly sensitized to
a few issues and any comments made by a few particular users for several
years now and this definitely contributes to some short fuses here on
csa2. Over on Delphi, these sensitive topics, while few, are avoided
for the most part so that discussions about the Apple II predominate.
And, I for one like this about Delphi. I happen to be a _long_time_
reader of csa2 (I started on the BITNET's APPLE2-L list and on the
original comp.sys.apple) and can safely say that while neither the
Delphi forum nor csa2 come close to matching the atmosphere of
"the old days", as it currently stands Delphi comes the closest.
This certainly isn't a slam against csa2 -- just my opinion.

> 
>      Meanwhile, should a user post information the managers do not want
> users to know or take an 'incorrect' position on an issue or post
> something which embarrasses the managers-- like Beverly's complaint--
> then, the message will be deleted.
> 

I must admit that I've already let the details of the incident concerning
Beverly fade from my memory. But, your comment makes it appear as if
there is a blanket policy by which the forum managers are regularly
controlling the forum. This couldn't be farther from the truth. As I
said above, they rarely step in. ...Over 15,000 messages....probably many
hundreds of threads....moderation on probably less than 5 threads. Since
I don't know the full details of what was involved with Bev's complaint
(and probably only Bev and the forum managers know the whole story)
I won't comment on this any further than I have.

The bottom line is that both Delphi and csa2 experience flamewars and
inappropriate postings.

On csa2, an unmoderated forum, the flames are difficult to extinguish.
On Delphi, a moderated forum, the managers take care of the rare
inappropriate thread.

This is simply the fundamental difference between a moderated and
unmoderated forum. We have numerous examples of moderation right here
on the Usenet newsgroups. It is nothing new.

> 
> > Jeff also wrote:
> > 
> >  >What gets me is how whenever something goes wrong on Delphi it gets
> >  >talked about here.
> 

A good point.

> 
>      Many of Delphi's forums are well-managed and fun to visit. As for
> the "A2 (Apple II)" forum, the actions of its managers will, in large
> part, determine whether or not it is to become a credit to the Apple II
> community.

While I can see that you have reservations about Delphi, I don't think
it will be decided based on how the forum managers act. (Like I said,
for those csa2'ers not on Delphi, the managers rarely have to step in).
Delphi-A2 already has a healthy life of its own -- entirely due to many
members of the A2 community already embracing it over the last couple
of years.

> 
>      If there is any "rivalry" it is something imagined by the managers
> and a few members of the "A2 (Apple II)" forum on Delphi. The Csa2 FAQs
> continues to list Delphi as an on-line service which supports net access
> via Apple II's. When it was noticed that a direct URL for the "A2 (Apple
> II)" forum was missing, the information was added.    

There has never been a thread which actively discusses csa2 on Delphi.
Sure, at times someone will make a mention of csa2 here or there but
that's about it. Nothing ever sustained. Certainly no one has hinted
at a rivalry.


> 
>      If "A2 University", "A2 (Apple II)", and other such places promote
> established Apple II institutions and the expansion of II computing,
> they are sure to attract user support on Csa2.
> 

FYI, A2 University is part of the A2pro Delphi forum and provides an
organized format for learning to program the Apple II. Scheduled to start
soon is a course on programming with Hypercard IIgs. Unfortunately,
I believe there will be 'assignments' which require downloading. In
this case, you would have to have a paying Delphi account in order to
fully benefit from the course.

(Telnet access to Delphi costs $34.95 per year and allows full access
privileges, i.e., downloads, etc.)

Paul.

pschultz@med.wayne.edu
Paul Schultz