From: asylvain@felix.filenet.com (The Chipmunk)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,ca.politics
Subject: Re: What Here!?! (Re: Working for change?)
Date: 12 Sep 92 04:13:26 GMT
Reply-To: asylvain@fritz.filenet.com (The Chipmunk)
Organization: Foundation for the Increased Wealth of Chipmunks

Written in article <1992Sep10.010745.24186@bellahs.com>
 by tnelson@bellahs.com (Tom Nelson RD):

: In article <q0dnf5q.phil@netcom.com> phil@netcom.com (Phil Ronzone) writes:
:> In article <p57r000@fido.asd.sgi.com> dauber@sgi.com (Jeff Dauber) writes:
:>> Do you do something about it?
:>
:> Yep. These postings are an example. 
:
: Pardon me... but posting don't do shit, This aint the real world in here.
:
: I've been posting under various names in various forums on various
: BBSs for about 7 years now... I've seen one mind changed in all that
: time.  (In fact it was right here, just a few weeks ago)

You don't know that to be a fact.  You know about one, sure, but you do
NOT know about the others.

Look at it from this point of view.  According to un-official estimates,
some 14,000 people read at least portions of ca.politics.

Politicians, media and business people use different numbers, but they
assume that something on the order 500 to 1000 people are represented by
every letter they get.  Eg, if someone sends them a letter saying, "I
disagree with you," they assume 500 people feel the same way, but were 
too lazy to write.

Now, e-mailing is easier, and these estimates are full of hot air
anyway, so let's assume that for that _one_ mind you _know_ you changed, 
there are at least 50 to 100 out there who never bothered e-mailing you.

You probably could assume even more, simply in that you only changed
perhaps 10 or 20 per year, which doesn't add up enough statistically to 
emit one e-mail response.  Then there's a bunch who's minds may have
been changed, not primarily by anything you in particular said, but your
words contributed to their change.

So, let's say for lack of better data that you changed a total of 200 
minds.  That's 28 minds/year.

Well, it's not particularly earth-shattering but it's better than doing
absolutely nothing.  Who knows, maybe one of those will go out and
also try to change minds.  That's not too unlikely out of 200 people.

Maybe that one person will be better at it than you, or perhaps that one
person will grow up to be a news reporter, and hold the ears of millions
instead of mere thousands.

: What seems to happen more often is:
: 1)	Spelling & Grammar Police move in
:	 These creatures can smell a spelling mistake from a hiearchy (here they
:	 come) away

Actually, I've had very few problems with these folks.  It's a sure sign
of a beginner on the net, and after they feel the heat of a flame or
too, they usually let up.  I expect September, with a new crop of fresh-
men in the .EDU domain discovering Usenet, will bring in a fresh supply.

: 2)	Subject Changers
:	 Poster A:   "Hi there.  I'd like to anounce that I'm running for a 
:	 government post, Please vote for me."
:	 Poster B:   "Glad to here it, good luck"
:	 Poster C:   "But that means that you support NAMBLA"

Just ignore 'em and change the subject back again.

One of the beauties of posting is that you have 100% control over what
you choose to debate.  If a particular portion is not germaine, diffi-
cult to figure out, or is even that one fact that blows your theories
out of the water, simply ignore it.  Chances are no one will even notice
the omission.  And even if they do, perhaps by that time you'll have a
suitable answer figured out.

: 3)  Just Good Clean Flames
: I think that just a few posts ago, nitwit was saying something 
:	 to sawdust-brains... and oh what fun it is to blast your opponent 
:	 to a smoldering pile of ashes not with the content of your post 
:	 but with ferociousness of your vitrolic witt...

As much fun as this can be, it's never a good idea in the long run.
Some people love it, but most tune it out.  An escalating flame-war
rapidly degrades into a two-person match, with everyone else employing
"kill" files.  Once you're in folks' "kill" file, you may never get
their ears again.

In fact, the only reason I found your article was by accident.  I had
"kill"ed it yesterday (I've no interest in PKR's failure to vote), but 
today I'm bored.  So here I am.  Fun, huh?

-- 
The Chipmunk.
Opinions are mine, void where prohibited, taxed, licensed or regulated.
Spouse, n.: Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you
wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single.
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,ca.politics,ba.politics,soc.motss