> On 5/26/2012 10:59 PM, RichL wrote:
>
>> IF this post is on the up-and-up, I must commend you for your
>> outstanding parenting. After all, who could even imagine that usenet
>> newsgroups are a cesspool! Why, just sampling a few of them at random,
>> foul language, one-upsmanship, and the like would be the LAST thing I
>> would expect on a usenet newsgroup.
>>
>> That was sarcasm, in case you're wondering.
>
> Not everybody understands how usenet works Rich. Maybe they come in from
> Yahoo ,Google or the like and think it's part of that organization and
> controlled by them. After all, who would think Google would put their
> reputation in harms way by hosting a "cesspool".
Well, I guess I don't have such an optimistic view of any organization whose
main purpose in life is to make money. They do whatever they can get away
with in this pursuit. This isn't "evil", it's just the nature of the beast.
And I do think parents of a child that age have an obligation to check out
what their kid is doing. I know I have when my kids were that age.
But mainly that's beside the point. Really, I think "Kathy" is a pseudonym
for someone who's been posting to or lurking in this group for quite a
while. If I really thought "Kathy" were a concerned parent, I wouldn't have
used that tone.
> There are plenty of very good groups on usenet, they're called
> "moderated". I've even seen un-moderated groups that were good simply
> because the regulars ignored all the Lumpy's and Wereo's who didn't stay
> long since they couldn't get a rise out of anyone.
Agreed, there are some good non-moderated usenet groups. Anyone with any
sense ignores or kilfiles the Wereos. The Lumpys are another matter. To my
way of thinking, Lumpy is a classic case as to the value of non-moderated
groups. Yeah, he can be a pain in the ass, and I think he has a few
unresolved personal issues. But he brings as much valuable on-topic content
to this group as ANYONE. That's why I sometimes nag him about his (in my
view) odd behavior rather than killfile him, and it's why when I get in a
pissing contest with him I try to drag him back to on-topic subjects.
I can understand why his behavior would be sufficiently bothersome to some
folks to the degree they'd killfile him. Personal choice. But that's what
unmoderated newsgroups are about, personal choice, and for me if a guy
contributes the degree of on-topic content that Lumpy does, I'll consider
that weighing more importantly than the guy periodically degenerating into
a-hole mode.
> Proof that when everyone works together as a team and sticks to a plan,
> good things can happen.
> This groups been a lot better for me since I put the Lump-0-shit on my
> filters. It's a shame I still see some of his tripe in others replies.
> Wereo's harmless, takes everybody's abuse in stride and can occasionally
> be entertaining, so he hasn't made my filters list yet.
> I think this my be my first post here this year. I mostly lurk, getting
> what info. I can but since Lumpy tends to highjack most the topics and
> bend them to his own (a sign of a troll) its been pretty worthless around
> here as of late.
> It's a shame, you guys have a lot to offer beginners, even Lumpy, if he
> were civilized.
I do think we'd be a lot better off if we avoided the personal attacks,
especially in this group where many of them seem extremely silly to me.