NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/lang/c++-part1/7735

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 3.5 KB

Path: news.cyberport.com!usenet
From: [e-mail] (Warren Young)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: this group sucks
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 18:43:47 GMT
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[e-mail] (Barnett E. Kurtz) wrote:

>I am not sure that I agree with the Subject: line entirely, but I

...ditto...

>certainly agree with your sentiment. I think the reasons you give
>_are_ what motivated the creation of the comp.lang.c++.moderated
>group. I have tried to 'stick it out' here trusting that sooner or
>later the inappropriate job postings, comp.os.ms* questions, etc. ad

Some of the questions certainly aren't appropriate, but you can't rely
on an unmoderated group's name to indicate what it's for.  I see this
group more as a free-form discussion room for people who use C++.  The
lean toward DOS/Windows questions merely indicates the current lean in
this group's audience.  Not too long ago, comp.lang.c was almost
entirely UNIX users who would freely discuss UNIX issues, but when a
DOS question came up, you'd get forty all-caps, punctuation-laden
flames telling you to go to comp.os.msdos.*.  Times change.

On the other hand, I'm more likely to ignore a technically unrelated
question here than in a more appropriate newsgroup.  The important
exception to this is when the question/post is of a more general
nature, especially when no specific group exists for the topic.  For
example, there's really no better place to discuss compilers in
general than here or comp.lang.c, in my opinion.  A compiler like
Borland C++ targets many platforms, and many newsgroups apply, but the
one most every user of it has in common is this one.  Sure, you could
type in a cross-post line to end all cross-post lines, but why?

As a counterexample, I'd probably ignore a question about Borland
OWL's TEdit class here, but in comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.owl
(which is a much quieter and focused group), I would be much more
likely to answer it.

I've been active in echomail and such for many years now, and I've
learned that you can't keep an unmoderated group on track.  It's like
trying to control what people in a bar or coffee shop talk about.
Personally, I think this lack of control is a good thing.  Free-form
discussion can produce better results than a focused discussion.

I think that the way to "fix" this is for the experienced posters to
post in very focused or moderated groups for specific topics, and go
ahead and use groups like this for general discussion.  Further,
questions that _belong_ in more focused groups should be ignored or
(better) answered with a pointer at the end to the appropriate group.
Most unappropriate questions come from newbies (especially Internet
newbies) who don't even know enough of the rules to try the FAQ first.
There's only one way for them to learn, and that's by experienced
posters telling them "what it is".

>notes and a few flames. I don't know if I'll be missed or not
>(probably not, the usenet is just too overpopulated) and frankly I

Probably not becuase the people who matter to you are likely to read
that group, too.  The only relevant group I don't read [anymore] is
comp.lang.c, and that's because I read too many other high-traffic
groups.  But I do watch a dozen other programming groups, and I
suspect most other savvy Usenet users do, too.

>I hope to see there...

Yep.

= Warren --