Frequently asked questions in these groups deserve a monthly posting

[Paul Houtz]

tale at pawl.rpi.edu (David C Lawrence) writes:

>Anyone who still thinks we don't need this posting probably has not been
>reading this group for more than a month; here comes the latest round
>of "Why is grep named the way it is?", one of the questions answered
>in news.announce.newusers:Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.  Now

    Wrong.  I have been reading this group for over a year.  I still don't
really see a need for it.   However, I use Notes to read the news, and 
I can easily skip from title to title by using the <shift> <l> key.

    I have never had a problem with people posting the same question
repetively.  When I see a question I have seen before, I just type <shift> L.

    Perhaps you should consider the idea of making your newsreader a 
little friendlier, rather than trying to reduce the communication in this 
newsgroup?

    You see, for every guru like yourself that has read this group for
years, there are probably 2 or 3 new people reading the group every month.

    Unix people claim to want to spread the word about unix to the world,
yet I keep seeing attempts to make it difficult for new people to get 
involved, rather than attempts to make it easier.

    Here is the scenario that happens in many ways all the time:

    New user hears about usenet from a friend.   New user has this question
 he has been wondering about for some time, and he sees this group called
 comp.unix.questions.   So, he posts his question, thinking that there are
 a bunch of friendly people out there that want to help.   He doesn't know
 about news.announce.newusers, or worse, he does know, but there is nothing
 in the group to read (as at our site, most of the time).

    Instead of getting a friendly reply to his question, some old expert says,
"Hey!  I am really sick and tired of you young kids posting questions that have
been asked before.   Read the summary and get a life."

    Don't tell me it won't happen, because I know it will.

    Now the new user has a pretty bad taste in his mouth about the whole
comp.unix.questions newsgroup.  And about the so-called gurus.  'nuff said.

    New users out number the crusty old guru's on this system by a fair 
margin now, and that ration will only INCREASE in the future(if unix is 
going to catch on like the "gurus" say it will).   So maybe we should look 
into making this group more helpful to the MAJORITY of the readership 
(new users).  

    My suggestion is to change the TONE of the posting, not remove it.  
Make it more appropriate to the readership of the group, i.e., users who 
have only been reading it for less than a year.    Make it possible for
them to at least see that anyone who flames them for posting a FAQ is in
the WRONG.   Say in the warning that it is NOT NECESSARY to read this
list before posting, that it is only a CONVENIENCE.   Then say explicitly
that anyone who flames a person for posting a FAQ is IN THE WRONG.

Paul Houtz
HP Technology Access Center
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