A Thought on Newsgroup Ettiquete (was: worth a look)

["Bryan Villados" <news003@macgeek.org>]

Well, even though this thread is off-topic, this thread demonstrates a clear
example as to why Internet users in general are _afraid_ to use newsgroups,
and why statistics show that newsgroups take less than 1-percent of the
overall bandwidth.

Newsgroups are a great resource for information, with its design developed
to give users the ability to exchange information without fear. No one
should ever be afraid to use a particular Internet entity. It's the
regulars' responsibility to keep newsgroups alive and kicking.

However, the regulars' overall manner needs some adjustment. The regulars of
newsgroups should act more mature, be able to cope with their net-rage much
better, and be more constructive when it comes to handling newbies. Maybe
the regulars' hidden agenda is to keep newsgroups exclusive (one of the last
un-regulated territories of the old Internet), and flaming or insulting
newbies who do not obey newsgroup ettiquete is their way of scaring off the
newbies and keep newsgroups to themselves.

A newbie can take a million dollars worth of Internet courses, and they'll
still never be taught about newgroups. Newsgroups are just one of those
entities (along with IRC and such) that is virtually impossible to properly
use when first discovered. And, with various service providers like Google
that make newsgroups even more available to the public, you're going to see
an even greater flood of newbies improperly posting messages. They're not
going to follow proper ettiquete, that's a plain fact we have absolutely no
control over. So let's be more constructive when lecturing newbies, and also
deal with our net-rage much better. If you want concrete regulations
enforced, join the U.S. military.

--- Bryan


> I'll jump in here -- I think more businesses use PCs rather than Macs
> because they WERE cheaper, about 15 years ago when Apple started
> seriously losing market share (that, and the "nobody ever got fired for
> buying IBM" mentality).  Now that PCs are so entrenched, I think most
> people use PCs because most people use PCs.  And whatever the reason,
> it's all off-topic!  ;-)