In <djrhszl at lynx.unm.edu> mwfolsom at hydra.unm.edu (Mike Folsom) writes:
> This prompts a question - Would it be "legal" for someone to
> do a mass e-mailing to people on a list telling them of
> an impending vote and requesting their support? If so,
> then what's the difference between doing this and posting
> the same message to another newsgroup?
I have always felt that when it comes to posting items to
newsgroups... people post by example. They see how other people
do it, then do the same... it's a sort of herd instinct.
BioSci has always strived to maintain a certain "professionalism"
and I would say that it has it's own style, whereas many on the
other newsgroups on Usenet are more recreational... designed for
tourists.
So if you call for a vote and you collect many YES votes from
tourists, then you might run into difficulties at a later date
when they disappear in their coach to the next network attraction.
Tourists like a show... verbal fireworks... flames. They go to
sleep reading about PCR, and temperature controls.
For any newsgroup to succeed there has to be commitment from a
dedicated group of people who work together to acheive a common
goal. The main reason for this discussion is to lay down
foundational rules that will help identify the right group of
people who will form the nucleus of a new newsgroup and stick
with it.
-=ROB=-
--
Rob Harper / E-mail: harper at convex.csc.fi
Finnish State Computer Centre / Molbio/software: harper at nic.funet.fi
P.O. Box 40, SF-02101 Espoo / Telephone: +358 0 457 2076
Finland / Fax: +358 0 457 2302
