Re: New group??

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <treiter-0808962325250001@remote-35.modems.comet.net>,
 <treiter@comet.net> wrote:
>I don't know what this would mean, exactly, but how would people feel
>about a newsgroup dedicated to new users of the Apple II. 

   Official dedications mean nothing. Names mean nothing. Purpose
means nothing. Clueless newbies WILL post wherever they want, without
batting an eye over the name (witness all the mac dorks in
comp.binaries.apple2), and never think twice. There are thousand of
"dumb computer users" (idiots who think that the mouse is a foot pedal
for the computer, or the CD-Rom tray is a cupholder for drinks)
stories, and they're all true.

   Even if you could rewrite all news programs to put "NEWBIES GO HERE
FIRST, DAMNIT!" in 150 point font with animated arrows pointed at it,
digitized voices yelling at them, and electroshock therapy embedded in
their chairs, you wouldn't solve the problem. It'd be pretty darn
satisfying, but you'd still get all sorts of people in the wrong place.

   Lack of a newsgroup for newbies is not the problem. It's them.
Cars require a driver's license to make sure that you understand how
to behave around others. Yes, you can't do as much damage physically
by not understanding how to behave on the internet, but you can still
break most of the rules and be an annoyance. Any bets on how long
it'll take before internet licenses are common practice?

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?  -R.A. Heinlein