HireTech

[Lester S. Garrett]

[Area: Xroads Email] [Subj: Re: CA SD Software Engineer]

In a Message to l...@xroads.com, dated 21 Jun 1996, lee...@cts.com
(HireTech) wrote:

CL> This is the first time I have used az.jobs for a
CL> position announcement. I have placed several professionals
CL> from Arizona in jobs here in San Diego, so I thought that it
CL> would be appropriate to advertise selected positions that I
CL> have been unable to fill through az.jobs.

The idea was (and is) a good one, but the choice of conferences was in
error.

CL> After reading your email I went back and looked at the
CL> postings on the newsgroup (which I admit that I didn't do
CL> before I posted the two listings yesterday) and I noticed
CL> that you seem to have this problem with a number of out of
CL> state recruiters.

Yup. But since I finally decided to start doing something about it
not long ago (and have now been joined by a number of other who are
equally disgusted), things have been gradually changing for the
better. While I generally only cross-post the, ah, shall I call them
less-than-friendly replies, I have received numerous Email messages
from many of the offenders apologizing for their error and agreeing to
work with us. In fact several recruiters have written to express
their anger and contempt with what some of their colleagues (eg. Bob
Cullen from Washington State) are doing. More often than not, now,
most recruiters will write back indicating that they were unaware that
they posted to the wrong group (or that it was posted in error) and
offer to cooperate in making AZ.JOBS better serve the function for
which it was intended.

CL> As a suggestion, if you want to maintain the purity of
CL> az.jobs, why don't you start new news groups (which other
CL> regional newsgroups have done to split up the postings into
CL> manageable groups) called "az.jobs.outofstate",
CL> "az.jobs.offerred" and "az.jobs.wanted" etc. or something to
CL> that effect.

A few of us have been kicking this very idea around. Though I'm still
unsure whether the traffic would warrant it.

CL> That way the newsgroup would be available to both recruiters
CL> and potential job candidates who do not want to search every
CL> newgroup in the country but are interested in jobs outside
CL> of Arizona.

Unfortunately, Chris, the major problems (numerous and repeated
out-of-state postings) are coming from a few recruiters who have
stated that don't give a damn. They've said so in messages to me and
others (both in AZ.JOBS and in other similar News Groups -- yup, many
of us are now in contact with each other and are trying to coordinate
our efforts), and, in the case of Bob Cullen -- whom I called long
distance on my dime last week to ask him personally to stop -- over
the phone. For those people -- and they are the only major problem --
creating the new conferences won't make a bit of difference.

However, I have made it plain to Cullen and a few others that if they
do not stop what they're doing, we will be forced to fall back to a
more serious tactic in order to get the message across. There are
several of us (eg., in Atlanta and Austin, TX) who are fed up with his
spamming and his refusal to stop, and who are also in a position to
fill his mailbox with several hundred megs of mail a day each day
until he finally decides that it's more profitable to act as a good
Net citizen than to persist in what he's doing. I much prefer to try
everything I can think of short of this (i.e. a gradual and if need be
slowly escalating approach) to convince him and the few others who
won't stop that we mean business. Turning his mailbox into mush and
possibly putting it out of commission ain't gonna do wonders for his
Email advertising.

Thanks for your thoughts, Chris, and for your understanding. I'm more
grateful than a simple thank you conveys.

Best regards,

-={lsg}=-