[PRCo] Re: Interesting Items on eBay (grande finale)

[Carl Zager]

On Thu, 7 Jun 2001, Donald Galt wrote:
about someone else's comment:
> On 7 Jun 01, at 11:38, someone wrote:
> > Off-topic threads tend to be self-regulating. They do not
> > generally cause problems except in rare instances where they
> > get out of hand. If that happens, the boom can be lowered.
> On second glance, this is too sweeping a statement. Most of us
> are aware of newsgroups rendered useless through being hijacked
> by a few malcontents with axes to grind.
>
> However, I don't see any signs of that happening at PRCo at .
>
> So, I'd revise the remark to say, "Given a degree of discipline within
> a group, off-topic threads tend to be self-regulating."

I've not been a member of any "owned" list that was hi-jacked or rendered
useless ... though I have tried at times to read and participate in USENET
groups that seem to suffer that fate quite regularly. I am a member of an
owned list that "bounced" a member for off-color, malicious postings. That
resulted in lengthy "he said, she said" threads. I believe they have
bounced him again when he gave away a "new identity" with similar
postings.

Don's generality does seem to hit the mark, though. One can request of
another list member (preferably "off list" in private e-mail) to curtail
posting this or that. Or one can contact the list-owner with concerns
about list content. If I were contacted, I hope I would remember to think
about the request and then perhaps ask the list (or the list-owner) if I
were out of line.

But for the most part, "Given a degree of discipline within a group,
off-topic threads tend to be self-regulating." (Donald Galt). And that's
one of the reasons I prefer PRCo. Well done, folks.

 Carl Zager						KB9RVB
 czager at bloomington.in.us         http://www.mccsc.edu/~czager