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#1
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OT - Should I bring back the occasional post?
The subject line says it all.
When I started posting the occasional post, the idea was to help new people understand what's going on with the annoyances on this newsgroup. I wanted to help them understand that anything they had to say on the subject had been said before, wouldn't do any long term good and would bore a bunch of people in the short term. I stopped because I wasn't sure I was accomplishing my goal. Now I'm not so sure. I'm seeing so many unmarked arguments with the annoyances. Any opinions? I'm not taking a vote, but I do care what the regulars think. For new people, the occasional post is as follows. Do you think that seeing it when you first started posting would have helped? Would it be more useful if it weren't so precise and wordy? Maybe something shorter? I'm thinking it needs an update. --Lia This message is posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior (r.p.d.b.) regularly and occasionally to other newsgroups including alt.animals.dog, rec.pets.dogs.rescue, alt.pets.dog, and rec.pets.dogs.misc. These are unmoderated groups meaning that no one checks the messages to make sure they're on-topic, civil or sensible before they go through. The purpose of this occasional posting is to give information about the newsgroup so that discussion about the newsgroup itself is cut down and discussion about dogs increases. Like so many usenet groups, this group has people who post annoyingly and constantly, people who post angry and abusive messages, people who post to irritate others. It's up to individuals to decide which posters bother them. Here are some guidelines that many people follow to make this newsgroup pleasant and informative: 1. Use your killfile. A killfile (or filter) makes invisible posts by any particular person or with any particular words in the subject line. The posts are still there, but they don't show up on the screen of the person using the killfile. Look at http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile/killfilefaq.htm for instructions. Or try: http://www.graphixmad.plus.com/OE_FAQ_newsgroups.html. 2. Don't make more noise. The only thing more annoying than a troll is an otherwise rational person arguing with or about a troll. That's known as feeding the trolls. Please don't feed the trolls. It really is insane to attempt rational discussion with the insane. 3. Want to exercise your right to free speech and argue about or with trolls anyway? Put "ninnyboy" in the subject line. That way the people who want to join the fracas can, and those who don't can opt out by killfiling "ninnyboy." If you don't do this, expect to be killfiled yourself. [Jerry], with the brackets is also a recognized signal. 4. Figured out that arguing with trolls is useless but still want to talk about trolls by referring to them in the third person? Put "ninnyboy" in the subject line then too. That subject is boring too. 5. Trim quoted posts to include only the part you're responding to. Quoting an entire long post in order to respond to only a small piece of it is annoying. Again, if you don't do this, expect to be killfiled. 6. Sometimes the group gets temporary trolls in addition to the resident ones. Label those [eggplant]. 7. Show no fear. Have a question or need to admit that you've made errors in dog training in the past? This is still a good place to come for (often contradictory) advice. Use your own judgment to decide what advice to follow and what not to. No harm can come to you even if people vehemently disagree, call you names or repost your old messages. 8. Label off-topic threads as "OT." A label helps people decide what to read and what not to. 9. Check the F.A.Q. for answers to frequent non-complicated questions. 10. Don't post pictures. This is not a binary newsgroup. That's plain text only, no HTML, no attachments. If you'd like, post a pointer to a website with pictures on it. 11. Don't crosspost. It's bad enough when someone posts something dog related to all the groups having to do with dogs. It's worse when totally unrelated groups get tossed in the mix. Feel like you absolutely have to jump in on something that's been crossposted to unrelated groups? Erase the extraneous ones when you answer. |
#2
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In article 2yuUb.185920$nt4.786916@attbi_s51,
Julia Altshuler wrote: I'm seeing so many unmarked arguments with the annoyances. Any opinions? I'm not sure it will help. Newbies often (but not always) post without having read the newsgroup first, and there are some oldbies who almost certainly have read your admonitions who seem to enjoy conversing with the annoyances (I think it's probably more useful to discuss dog training with a coffee mug than with some of these meatheads people are trying to have serious conversations with) and don't mark their posts. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - "It is hard to imagine such a large set of tax cuts that could have done less to stimulate the economy" -- Joseph Stiglitz on Bush tax cuts |
#3
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In article 2yuUb.185920$nt4.786916@attbi_s51,
Julia Altshuler wrote: I'm seeing so many unmarked arguments with the annoyances. Any opinions? I'm not sure it will help. Newbies often (but not always) post without having read the newsgroup first, and there are some oldbies who almost certainly have read your admonitions who seem to enjoy conversing with the annoyances (I think it's probably more useful to discuss dog training with a coffee mug than with some of these meatheads people are trying to have serious conversations with) and don't mark their posts. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - "It is hard to imagine such a large set of tax cuts that could have done less to stimulate the economy" -- Joseph Stiglitz on Bush tax cuts |
#4
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In article 2yuUb.185920$nt4.786916@attbi_s51,
Julia Altshuler wrote: I'm seeing so many unmarked arguments with the annoyances. Any opinions? I'm not sure it will help. Newbies often (but not always) post without having read the newsgroup first, and there are some oldbies who almost certainly have read your admonitions who seem to enjoy conversing with the annoyances (I think it's probably more useful to discuss dog training with a coffee mug than with some of these meatheads people are trying to have serious conversations with) and don't mark their posts. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - "It is hard to imagine such a large set of tax cuts that could have done less to stimulate the economy" -- Joseph Stiglitz on Bush tax cuts |
#5
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In article 2yuUb.185920$nt4.786916@attbi_s51,
Julia Altshuler wrote: I'm seeing so many unmarked arguments with the annoyances. Any opinions? I'm not sure it will help. Newbies often (but not always) post without having read the newsgroup first, and there are some oldbies who almost certainly have read your admonitions who seem to enjoy conversing with the annoyances (I think it's probably more useful to discuss dog training with a coffee mug than with some of these meatheads people are trying to have serious conversations with) and don't mark their posts. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - "It is hard to imagine such a large set of tax cuts that could have done less to stimulate the economy" -- Joseph Stiglitz on Bush tax cuts |
#6
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Julia Altshuler wrote in news:2yuUb.185920
$nt4.786916@attbi_s51: Would it be more useful if it weren't so precise and wordy? Maybe something shorter? I'm thinking it needs an update. If you do resurrect it, here's my suggestion. Edit it down from 4 beginning paragraphs to 1, and from 11 to 4 or 5 numbered items, with each number consisting of no more than two brief sentences. Cate |
#7
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Julia Altshuler wrote in news:2yuUb.185920
$nt4.786916@attbi_s51: Would it be more useful if it weren't so precise and wordy? Maybe something shorter? I'm thinking it needs an update. If you do resurrect it, here's my suggestion. Edit it down from 4 beginning paragraphs to 1, and from 11 to 4 or 5 numbered items, with each number consisting of no more than two brief sentences. Cate |
#8
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Julia Altshuler wrote in news:2yuUb.185920
$nt4.786916@attbi_s51: Would it be more useful if it weren't so precise and wordy? Maybe something shorter? I'm thinking it needs an update. If you do resurrect it, here's my suggestion. Edit it down from 4 beginning paragraphs to 1, and from 11 to 4 or 5 numbered items, with each number consisting of no more than two brief sentences. Cate |
#9
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Julia Altshuler wrote in news:2yuUb.185920
$nt4.786916@attbi_s51: Would it be more useful if it weren't so precise and wordy? Maybe something shorter? I'm thinking it needs an update. If you do resurrect it, here's my suggestion. Edit it down from 4 beginning paragraphs to 1, and from 11 to 4 or 5 numbered items, with each number consisting of no more than two brief sentences. Cate |
#10
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On Thu, 5 Feb 2004, Cate wrote:
If you do resurrect it, here's my suggestion. Edit it down from 4 beginning paragraphs to 1, and from 11 to 4 or 5 numbered items, with each number consisting of no more than two brief sentences. and try to make sure the subject line is *exactly* the same each time, so that people can killfile it without killfiling the author. this was a PITA when Julia made Occasional Posts in the past. (someone else might suggest this, as Julia has me killfiled G.) -- shelly (perfectly foul wench) and elliott and harriet http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette |
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