In article <4chofo$cnj at mserv1.dl.ac.uk> "Dr. Ulrich Schroeder" <Ulrich.Schroeder at IfN-Magdeburg.DE> writes:
>On 4 Jan 1996 09:29:42 -0800,
>Chuck Miller <rellim at MAILHOST.TCS.TULANE.EDU> wrote:
>>More on moderation.....
>>:The examples of the junk mail that would not be acceptable for posting to
>:the tox. group are the recent "Oracle of Man", "Free Sex Pictures And
>:Videos" and "MDs can get $50,000 on their signature" posts.
>>I absolutely agree. There is too much of that stuff in the newsgroups.
I agree too -- this stuff is pointless.
>>:Several students (asking for help with homework or papers) and other lay
>:persons have posted to the group and requested general information that is
>:normally available in a library or on MEDLINE. The tox group should not be
>:used as a substitute for a trip to the library. On the other hand,
>:toxicologists have a duty to disseminate knowledge. I favor allowing these
>:posts to continue -- at least for now. Some of them are even fun to read!
Yeah, when students post asking questions they could answer for
themselves at the library, I usually just tell 'em to go look for the
building on campus with all the books in it. OTOH, when a layperson
without access to search tools that I have access to posts a request for
information, I'm often happy to help, especially if I'm not too busy.
I was well-rewarded in the case of the fellow who recently asked for info
on HF exposure. The search was trivial to do, and while I didn't turn up
much that looked relevant to his question, I did find the following gem,
which I wouldn't have seen if his post had been moderated out:
AU - Cappell MS
AU - Simon T
TI - Fulminant acute colitis following a self-administered hydrofluoric
acid enema. [Review]
SO - American Journal of Gastroenterology 1993 Jan;88(1):122-6
AB - A 33-yr-old white male presented with bloody diarrhea, leukocytosis,
and left lower quadrant direct and rebound tenderness after a
self-administered concentrated hydrofluoric acid enema while
intoxicated from intranasal cocaine administration. Intraoperative
flexible sigmoidoscopy and a gastrografin enema revealed severe
mucosal ulceration and edema in the rectum and sigmoid colon.
Laparotomy revealed an ulcerated, necrotic, and purulent sigmoid
colon and intraperitoneal pus. The patient underwent a limited
sigmoid resection and a Hartman procedure. Five months later, the
patient presented with a rectal stricture which was resected. This
case demonstrates that a hydrofluoric acid enema can cause fulminant
acute colitis and chronic colonic strictures. [References: 33]
>:I welcome such debates as the recent/current discussion on Hg, amalgams,
>:composite fillings and their toxicities. The tox group was formed just for
>:this type of scientific discussion. I would hardly characterize the
>:discussion as a "flame war". I think all parties have behaved
>:professionally so far. I appreciate discussions that stick to the
>:literature/data to support various points of view.
Okay, cool. I was wondering about that, as it was the highest-traffic
conversation we'd had for quite a while, and it was after it had come
through that the moderation post was made.
If moderation would be essentially a spam and commercial post filter, it
would be fine by me, although we don't seem to get that much of
either...
-Peter
--
bell at minerva.cis.yale.edu | http://pantheon.cis.yale.edu/~bell/bell.html
Boil up a batch of shrimp: everyone for miles is beating down your door.
Boil up a batch of roaches: you're undergoing an extensive psychological
evaluation. -- ken at seefried.com
