misc.headlines.unitex moderator RESIGNS
David Wright
#Due to an increasing workload and a disagreement with some of the
#UNITEX directors, I am stepping down as moderator of the group.
Sorry to hear this, but
#This group will be deleted from the Usenet in 1 week.
Is this really necessary?
This group has been a source of information about what is going on in the
world with a coverage of world events unmatched in most traditional media;
the 'popular press' assumes - rightly I fear - that most of its readers
don't care about what happens more than 500 miles from their doorsteps,
even if their government is involved. So this news group has been a
useful information channel for those who do - not perhaps the majority of
the net, but with about 4600 readers according to the arbitron statistics.
That's far more than many technical groups, including a few which have
fairly recently passed their "+100" voting test.
I have also shown this group recently when giving talks within STC about
'the news net', as an example of other, non-technical, information services
being gatewayed into the net.
I am particularly annoyed at the way Chuq has immediately sent out about
three rmgroups, without even waiting the week Patt suggested, thus
preventing some existing readers from seeing what has already been sent
out. Chuq also suggested that there is no alternative (now where have I
heard that before :-) ) so did not even leave the group in place long
enough for the rest of us to discuss alternatives. Well, it still exists
here, and I hope will do so elsewhere until there has been at least some
modicum of 'due process'.
[Note: this is not a flame at Chuq, whose views I normally respect far more
than most people on the net, but at his action in this particular case.]
#The appropriate action is therefore to request that the group be deleted,
#and to encourage the 200 or so of you reading the group worldwide to
#subscribe to the Unitex mailing list instead. The way to do that is
#to send an email message to unitex-...@rubbs.UUCP.
If there is already a mailing list, to which presumably the Unitex reports
which have been in the group will be sent, why cannot it simply be fed into
misc.headlines.unitex? If the mailing list does however include requests
for funds which are not allowed on the Internet, (I'm not absolutely sure
that is true; would charitable requests violate the 'commercial use' rule?
Even if they did not, many netters would no doubt get upset by them, so I
agree they should be avoided), then it needs to be fed through a human
moderator. Surely someone would be willing to step forward? I would
if nobody else would take it on, at least for a while until someone with
more time volunteers (if you can get your mail to uunet, it usually takes
only another half hour or so to get to the UK now).
So how about it? Should we really let this news group die?
#Patt Haring | United Nations | Screen Gems in
#pa...@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | misc.headlines.unitex
#pa...@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange |
No more gems?
--
Regards, "None shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity"
David Wright STL, London Road, Harlow, Essex CM17 9NA, UK
d...@stl.stc.co.uk <or> ...uunet!mcvax!ukc!stl!dww <or> PSI%234237100122::DWW