On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 00:17:16 +1100, K Smith wrote:

noah wrote:
There has been some additional discussion lately about the amount of
off-topic posting in this group.

When I first approached this issue, I received about 12 emails from
"lurkers", 4 from names I recognized, and 1 from a person I considered
a "Regular". All these emails supported some control in rec.boats.

The problem for me was that any change to the Usenet hierarchy,
outside of "alt", requires a lengthy proposal, debate, and voting
process. A lot of work.

rec.boats is one of the oldest "living" groups in Usenet. The
unofficial FAQ is probably one of the best collections of sailing
information to be found online.

The problem enters in because the founders of this group had no idea
that Usenet (newsgroups) could, and would, become battlegrounds. From
reading years of the original posts, I can tell you that there was
little controversy (check it yourself, with Google) about the focus of
the group. I can also say, with confidence, that there was no
intention to incorporate political or offensive posts into this group.

I view the founders of this group with respect, but they made a
mistake. There is no "newgroup" message, and no "official" FAQ. That
far back, I'm sure that they didn't see this as "necessary".

Today, an FAQ is "necessary', and IMO, some basic ground rules will
help this group survive as a "boating" group. What those rules are,
and what the FAQ says, are entirely up to you, and "us".. More
importantly, they will not exist without you, and "us".

I invite every person who visits this group to express their opinion.
If you disagree with me, tell me.
If you are trolling, go away for a while. I'll be happy to butt heads
later.
If you agree, or disagree, then please say so.
An FAQ will not exist without user support.
rec.boats.lounge (or "community", yuck) will not exist without
support. And you can't dump the OT without an FAQ.

Had fish for dinner, deep fried, with corn meal and spices, )
Regards,
noah

To email me, remove the "OT-" from wrecked.ot-boats.noah.
...as you were. )

If it's a vote thing Noah?? can you mark me down as a nay.

I agree the OT stuff is a pain & I've been as guilty as anyone at
times, same with the abuse I'm a bit ashamed to admit.

Trouble is most of us have looked at other groups, the so called
moderated groups & they're just not acceptable. I'm sure the players
would argue, but for me anyway they're just commercial sites, of course
if people disagree they can always go join them as some have. However
they mostly come back, unless they were just spammers here anyway (which
a few were).

Nothing is for nothing & if putting up with a few total dipsticks, OT
posts & a nasty liar or two is the price I pay for rec.boats it's cheap
enough, particularly when I know they have to pay their price in
putting up with the likes of me:-)


K

K, thanks for the reply.

I have no interest in "moderation". The posters to this group should
feel free to speak their minds, and suffer the consequences of their
ignorance. ) (just kidding, people).

What concerns me is the volume of political posting which has nothing
to do with boating. I do enjoy an intelligent argument, and there are
appropriate groups for any argument conceivable.

Why tear his group up with vehemence, egos, and bad manners when there
are other places to do this?
Regards,
noah

To email me, remove the "OT-" from wrecked.ot-boats.noah.
....as you were. )