From: music@erich.triumf.ca (FRED W. BACH)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: how to increase the quality of postings on INFO-VAX
Date: 22 Jan 1993 14:08 PST
Organization: TRIUMF: Tri-University Meson Facility
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: erich.triumf.ca
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

In article <01GTQT8MX3R68WW3FQ@kopc.hhs.dk>, ARNE@kopc.hhs.dk (Arne Vajhxj) writes...
# 
#There has recently been some suggestions about how we could increase the
#quality of postings to INFO-VAX/COMP.OS.VMS !

  [ items 1 and 2 deleted ]

#3)  Send out a "How-to-post"-guide every week.
# 
#    Carl and Ehud are working on a "How-to-post"-guide, which I assume will
#    be good, IF they keep their head cool and forget all their aggressions.
#    One of the monthly INFO-VAX postings already have such a section, but it
#    is several hundred lines down in a large posting and could probably
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
       See my comments below on splitting into other posts.

#    have been written better (it is small). So I will suggest, that
#    Carl and Ehuds "How-to-post"-guide will join the monthly INFO-VAX
#    postings as an independent posting (or maybe after all the not so nice
#    words have been exchanged with some more polite :-) ). 
# 
#    But is weekly not better than monthly? No - I do not think so. Here we

         What?  INFO-VAX must have a large number of posts and so the
       monthly posts must also be getting buried, as on comp.os.vms.

#    must seperate between the mailing-list INFO-VAX and the news-group
#    COMP.OS.VMS ! At INFO-VAX I do think that monthly is enough ! At
#    COMP.OS.VMS daily would probably be necesarry to catch all the users,
#    which suddenly one day discovers the NEWS command ! I will not suggest
#    a daily posting, but instead suggest that the system-managers at 
#    sites with COMP.OS.VMS maybe did "inform" their users a little about
#    the fact that posting a question to COMP.OS.VMS actually means that
#    50000 people (so the monthly posting says) will have to read it and
#    maybe they should read at least a month before starting to post !
# 
     I think Arne is suggesting that it should indeed be a *weekly*
  posting for comp.os.vms.  I agree.  There are now well over 500 messages
  here per week  in this newsgoup, and I am hard pressed to scan them all.
  Some of them should not be posted for reasons Carl has made clear.  

     Since the FAQ postings will be large, I recommend we split them up
  into WEEKLY postings (with the non-expire function set if possible, but
  may not work at all sites), and that these WEEKLY postings have catchy
  titles like "How to ask a Stupid Question", "How to Read the Archives",
  "New VMS Users: READ THIS", "a Who's Who on comp.os.vms", "VMS FAQ",
  "POSIX FAQ", "Related groups FAQ", and maybe even "Where to get VMS help".
  I bet someone can come up with more titles.  Perhaps you could have a
  weekly HUMOUR posting and bury a few goodies in it to catch the eyes
  of the new users.  How about "Sex and VMS" as a title to catch the 
  young college folks' eyes ??? ;-)  We should post one or two every week.
  There could be some mild redundancy in the content (like any good help
  manual, redundancy is absolutely necessary in human interactions).  By the
  time a month had rolled around, all the WEEKLY postings would start again.

     In a private letter to Chris, I suggested that network ettiquite on how
  to find things and how to compose and post postings SHOULD NOW BE PUT
  INTO THE GENERAL CURRICULUM at most universities (any that have a newsfeed).
  It is entirely obvious that the universities provide the access to the
  students (and staff), and that the universities have a responsibility
  to provide the necessary background to new users.  I mean, it just isn't
  right to teach people to swim by throwing them into the ocean, or by
  letting them fall off the cliff into the ocean.

    Can the net.administration please comment on this (if you read this) ?

#There can be done a few things to improve the way this list work, but it
#will NEVER be perfect. So if you see a posting with a stupid question,
#then hit the next-key and think at spring and pretty girls !
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   :-) :-)

    But, Arne,  I'd get even LESS work done.  ;-)

#Arne Vajhxj                             local DECNET:  KO::ARNE
#Computer Department                     PSI:           PSI%23831001304030::ARNE
#Business School of Southern Denmark     Internet:      ARNE@KO.HHS.DK
# 

 Fred W. Bach ,    Operations Group        |  Internet: music@erich.triumf.ca
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