Re: Konada.Db IS PURE SPAM

"Ken North" <knorth2_at_deletethis.yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<c6hib0$agt$1_at_ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>...
> > We've had MANY discussions about this. One was just a month or so ago.
>
> Ed,
>
> Why do you believe opinions expressed in past discussions override what's
> defined in the newsgroup charter?

Why do you believe the opinions expressed here and last month differ from the charter? I don't think they do differ, so nothing is being "overridden" IMHO.

But I'll comment futher.

If you read some of the introductory documents for newsgroups you'd find out why. The suggestion for new posters is always to read first.

WHY?
because no charter is ever going to be complete enough or clear enough to cover all cases. So groups evolve their own culture, some more strict and some more open than others to near-topic and off-topic threads. Given that this is a techical group, I for one assume most posters and readers here would favor a stricter view on this case.

To use myself as an example, when I read the misc group I'm looking for questions to help answer, or from the questions and answers, an idea of what's new in ORACLE and how some folks are using it. Sometimes it's depressing ("please, not another ROWNUM question!") and sometimes exciting (a post with a new query form that provides better performance or unique application). And I like the fact that the topics here are technical, with little or no marketting.

OTOH, when I need a new contract, or maybe a new conversion tool, or just to get a sense of the ORACLE market, I browse the marketplace group. And it's not just ads there. It seems to be an appropriate place to discuss the marketability of a BS degree versus ORACLE specific training for example.

So, ...

if you want to be a "strict constructionist", even the meta-threads (discussion threads about threads) like this one are off topic and we should really be somewhere in the news.admin.* hierarchy. IMO, discussion about what is on topic or off topic is always appropriate for a group. Yes it can get heated even to the boiling point (so many messages that you cannot keep up.) But the many lurkers who may be planning to post can see and get a very concentrated view of the group's culture, what's acceptable and what's not.  

Why the long-play versions of these on/off topic discussions seem to be happening more frequently is a mystery to me (usually, I think the cycle is more like 3-6 months, not 1-2). (Maybe people don't like reading groups in GOOGLE?)

In the end, this is an unmoderated group. Nothing I do can eliminate off topic posts. (Anyone can post anything to this group.) I can only hope to persuade others to my view. And often the posters that trigger threads like this do change their ways. (see the response from the original poster.)

I hope I've swayed you, if olny a little.   Ed Received on Tue Apr 27 2004 - 12:09:13 CDT