To the <10 people still here

"Usenet is doing just fine, where it isn't intentionally destroyed by
flamers, idiots, and assholes."

Well, I'm still not going to be convinced by a single case. My impression
is that Usenet is more vulnerable to trolls than the other media, mainly due
to cross-posting. And, again, every forum, group, or list I'm part of has
been battling over what I call the totalitarianism vs liberalism issue since
911. Those few groups that are severely moderated actually created
unmoderated spinoff groups so that people could continue to discuss these
issues. Now, I'm not sure why people insist on discussing this stuff with
each other rather than in groups devoted to the topic, but it's possible
that they just prefer discussions with people they know a little, as opposed
to rank strangers.

Also, if you go to a forum like Democratic Underground you're really only
going to encounter one point of view... and some people just aren't
stimulated by that. (And they also might have a healthy skepticism of
groupthink.)

Now, I guess I have to say that the war is usually not a big topic on the
gun forums, like Highroad... although it does come up. The debates there
are, however, surprisingly civil. Well, that's probably because it's
moderated, come to think of it. The moderation isn't severe, though, except
in certain dedicated threads and discussions. I also haven't been paying
attention to the HPV list very much, but would be surprised if they hadn't
avoided most of the intense debates. Of course, that's moderated too. So,
there yah go.

On the other side of the argument, those other venues don't have kill files.

--
--Scott
"Gary Fritz" wrote in message
...
"Freewheeling" wrote:
What are the "per group" averages for usenet? I'm thinking that
it's usenet that's dying, and not just this newsgroup.

I don't know the usenet averages as a whole, but I picked a group at
random: alt.home.repair. A basic, steady, non-trendy group. Monthly
averages for each year since 1998 a 5700, 6800, 6400, 5900, 6500,
6800, 7500, and 9400 last month. Doesn't look to me like it's dying.
Several other groups I looked at were similar.

Usenet is doing just fine, where it isn't intentionally destroyed by
flamers, idiots, and assholes.

On 3-Feb-2005, Tom Sherman wrote:

You should know better than to twist what other people say. Especially
when you know someone is being pedantic.

Does P*rry B*utl*r know you are a pedantic?

skip

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Jon Meinecke wrote:

...
The newsgroup is probably forever changed, but we can
drastically improve the curb-appeal of ARBR if there are
people willing to engage in reasonable discussion, share their
experiences, pose interesting questions, respond kindly to
newbies, etc....

Bringing back Beth F, John Harper, Jeff Cowan, Bob Cardone et al would
help, as they all contributed significantly when the group was at is high
point ca. 2000. Heck, I would even be nice and not complain if a certain
resident of Greater Houston came back.

As long as you keep your ****ing liberal socialist-communist opinions to
yourself, all would be well.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Freewheeling" wrote in message
...


--
--Scott
"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Freewheeling wrote:

...
Well, although it's not especially on topic at least this is a different
topic. I'm apparently cursed because the only alcoholic beverage I can
tolerate (apart from a glass of very dry wine once in awhile, which
usually gives me a headache) is beer. And beer makes me fat. It
doesn't just make me fat, it makes me *feel* fat, so I don't even get
the benefit of a decent delusion. Plus it's not really nearly as tastie
as lemonade. And no, I'm not gonna drink that brewed stuff that tastes
like lemonade because *it's not freakin' lemonade." It has to be
satanic, because lemonade is mixed not brewed. And, of course, it
generally won't get you plastered....

Odd. Usually it is beer and wine that cause headaches, not distilled
liquor. Neither is a good choice to drink while riding - I think the
cyclists that drink beer on RAGBRAI must spend most of the time riding in
an air conditioned team bus, or they would end up in the hospitals with
dehydration and/or heat exhaustion.

No, no... wine & beer = headaches. (Beer less so than wine.) Hard liquor
= pangs of hell. However, I do manage to down a small glass of cognac
from time to time, just for the warm eusophageal dousing it gives my GERD.
I consider it medicine.

I will say one thing for alcohol. It works every time which is more than I
can say for the ton of prescription medications I am taking. Those who put
alcohol down do not know what they are talking about.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
wrote:

Ah So. Number one son Sherman say Johnny NoCom no coward. Johnny NoCom
humorous salesman of NoCom bicycle. Number one son see no flame war....

Skip,

You should know better than to twist what other people say. Especially
when you know someone is being pedantic.

Take the issue of Fabrizio Mazzoleni. It would not be funny if the person
responsible for the posts used his/her real name instead of this "pen
name". Hardly anyone objects to Fabby because he injects lighthearted
humor into the cycling newsgroup.

Fabrizzio is an angel compared to Ed Gin.

Posting the same irrelevant post to every thread is annoying if done once
or twice, and offensive if continued beyond that. But it does not meet the
usual definition of a "flame war", which is an unnecessarily heated
discussion over a particular issue (or issues). Merely trading insults
does not constitute a "flame war" if there is no discussion going on.

Why the **** don't you tell that to your buddy Ed Gin, the worst offender of
Usenet rules and etiquette that ever was.

As implied above, it is also a matter of quantity. A "Johnny NoCom" post
here and there is either unimportant or mildly humorous. The same post on
every thread is offensive.

Tell it to him (Ed Gin), not Skip, you jackass!

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Mark Leuck" wrote in message
...

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Mark Leuck wrote:

...
I was hoping for a Fabrizio/Johnny matchup, I'm sure Fab has gone MUCH
faster on his DF race bike than Johnny will ever hope to achieve

Who has the faster imagination?

--
Tom Sherman - Earth

Exactly

They are both one note Johnnies. Is that what you jackasses like to read -
one note Johnnies?

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Freewheeling" wrote in message
...
Gary:

What are the "per group" averages for usenet? I'm thinking that it's
usenet that's dying, and not just this newsgroup. And not so much because
of the behavior, but because the alternatives (web forums, blogs) are on
the rise.

Yes, it is Usenet that is dying and it will be as dead as door nail soon.
And it will be because of assholes like Ed Gin. I myself am preparing to
leave this ****ed up group. It is full of idiots and fools and jackasses. I
predict the future will consist of ONLY moderated forums where editors can
exclude assholes like Ed Gin.

A blog is nothing but a writer who depends on others to read him. Who in his
right mind would ever want to read someone like Ed Gin.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

--
--Scott
"Gary Fritz" wrote in message
...
Tom Sherman wrote:
Postings to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent generally peaked in
mid-2000 to mid-2001, and underwent a seriously decline in 2004.

Monthly averages of 3000-3500 posts in 2000-2002, 2600 in 2003, and
1400 in 2004. And when you consider that the vast majority of posts in
2004 involved various flavors of flame war usually involving you and Ed
Dolan, I'd say the group was pretty much ruined. Apparently that
hasn't changed, since Google says Dolan accounts for 1/3 of the posts
this month. Now the various NoCom / EdGin / Monkey / etc crap is
taking it down even further.

I barely look at it any more. Why would anyone want to read this
drivel? Pity something so nice got destroyed.

"Gary Fritz" wrote in message
...
"Freewheeling" wrote:
What are the "per group" averages for usenet? I'm thinking that
it's usenet that's dying, and not just this newsgroup.

I don't know the usenet averages as a whole, but I picked a group at
random: alt.home.repair. A basic, steady, non-trendy group. Monthly
averages for each year since 1998 a 5700, 6800, 6400, 5900, 6500,
6800, 7500, and 9400 last month. Doesn't look to me like it's dying.
Several other groups I looked at were similar.

Usenet is doing just fine, where it isn't intentionally destroyed by
flamers, idiots, and assholes.

A single asshole can easily destroy a newsgroup. You are deluded to think
otherwise. Ed Gin can take down
ARBR without half trying and the rest of you are too ignorant and stupid to
even know what is happening.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Freewheeling" wrote in message
...
"Usenet is doing just fine, where it isn't intentionally destroyed by
flamers, idiots, and assholes."

Well, I'm still not going to be convinced by a single case. My impression
is that Usenet is more vulnerable to trolls than the other media, mainly
due to cross-posting. And, again, every forum, group, or list I'm part of
has been battling over what I call the totalitarianism vs liberalism issue
since 911. Those few groups that are severely moderated actually created
unmoderated spinoff groups so that people could continue to discuss these
issues. Now, I'm not sure why people insist on discussing this stuff with
each other rather than in groups devoted to the topic, but it's possible
that they just prefer discussions with people they know a little, as
opposed to rank strangers.

All it takes is one rank stranger like Ed Gin to destroy the group.

Also, if you go to a forum like Democratic Underground you're really only
going to encounter one point of view... and some people just aren't
stimulated by that. (And they also might have a healthy skepticism of
groupthink.)

Now, I guess I have to say that the war is usually not a big topic on the
gun forums, like Highroad... although it does come up. The debates there
are, however, surprisingly civil. Well, that's probably because it's
moderated, come to think of it. The moderation isn't severe, though,
except in certain dedicated threads and discussions. I also haven't been
paying attention to the HPV list very much, but would be surprised if they
hadn't avoided most of the intense debates. Of course, that's moderated
too. So, there yah go.

On the other side of the argument, those other venues don't have kill
files.

Kill files don't really solve anything at all. Again, Ed Gin proves that
with all his pseudonyms.

Usenet is doomed. Only a moderator (editor) can save any group. Scott
(Freewheeling) is right as usual. We should be thanking Ed Gin for showing
us what Usenet groups are good for - nothing!

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota




--
--Scott
"Gary Fritz" wrote in message
...
"Freewheeling" wrote:
What are the "per group" averages for usenet? I'm thinking that
it's usenet that's dying, and not just this newsgroup.

I don't know the usenet averages as a whole, but I picked a group at
random: alt.home.repair. A basic, steady, non-trendy group. Monthly
averages for each year since 1998 a 5700, 6800, 6400, 5900, 6500,
6800, 7500, and 9400 last month. Doesn't look to me like it's dying.
Several other groups I looked at were similar.

Usenet is doing just fine, where it isn't intentionally destroyed by
flamers, idiots, and assholes.