From: dsmythe@netcom.com (Dave Smythe)
Subject: Re: group for judo?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:45:00 GMT

You missed the whole point, Damien.

In article <1gisfoINNv4@spool.mu.edu> kickda@studsys.mscs.mu.edu (Damien Kixk) writes:
>In article <1992Dec14.081434.19231@netcom.com> 
>dsmythe@netcom.com (Dave Smythe) responds with:
>>Shouldn't be.  The consensus around here seems to be that the cross-
>>pollination that occurs (when the terminology is not too much of a
>>barrier) from having different styles discussed in the same forum
>>far outweighs the minimal effort required to ignore messages that you
>>are not interested in.  If your newsreader doesn't do this for you,
>>get a better one.  RN, TRN, NN, TIN, GNUS should all be able to handle it...

>       i'm not quite sure what you mean when you say "the consensus 
>  around here ..." but if you mean "the consensus amongst the readers
>  of this newsgroup ..." then add one more to the list of those who
>  don't quite agree with you.

I meant, the consensus that seems to have been arrived at the first 3 or
4 times that we discussed this issue in the past few years.

>   using a kill-file to simulate the 
>  creation of a new, more specific newsgroup is a bit silly, IMO.

No, it's not.  When there are so many micro newsgroups and the topic
is potentially of interest to other readers, and the volume of traffic
in the main newsgroup is not very large (which is the case with r.m-a)
then it makes perfect sense.  Come on, people.  It's just *not that hard*
to junk articles that you don't want to read.  I read over 30 newsgroups
(and work, and go to school, and have a family, and study Shaolin) and
it is quite doable with a reasonable newsreader.  I also only have a
2400 baud modem.

>  just to take up one issue: not every article that deals with judo
>  or a topic specifically related to judo includes the word judo in
>  the subject name -- requiring that rec.martial-arts users would do
>  such a thing would only be useful if you were trying to use the kill-
>  file to simulate the creation of a new, more specific, group.  

So what?  Are you concerned that you might miss some information that is
of more general significance beyond Judo? (Enough so that you can talk
about it without mentioning the word Judo in an entire article?)  Or are
you concerned that you might have to read about something other than
Judo, occasionally?  Put Judo in as a keyword, or put it in your signature
file.  Or, better yet, share your ideas about MA with non-Judo folk and
listen to what they have to say, too.

>       for those who are without bias in their marital-arts interests
>  -- keep rec.martial-arts.  for those who have a more particular
>  taste -- make rec.martial-arts.blah.blah.blah.  cross posting is
>  easier and makes more sense than having to filter through the huge
>  wave of information -- the daily flood of posts that come from all
>  over -- and create a hierarchy of your own -- without aid.

Huge wave?  Who are you kidding?  Read comp.lang.c or comp.windows.x or
comp.sys.ibm.pc for a while...  

If you must be separatist, form a private mailing list.

D

-- 
========================================================================
Dave Smythe   N6XLP    dsmythe@netcom.com (also dsmythe@cs.stanford.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts