Craig White wrote: > Why is it so hard to delete or simply not reply to messages that you > don't like? While I don't generally go for name calling, I think this part of your mail deserves reply. To rephrase the question: what is hard about deleting or not replying to numerous threads which often violate several general standards of net decency? * they decrease the signal to noise ratio, making it harder to those seeking help to get their questions seen and similarly harder for those looking to help to weed through the needless duplicated and pointless threads. It's akin to one person in a classroom always raising their hand and asking a thousand questions. It's disrespectful to the other people who may have questions. * they diminish the usefulness of list archives and threaded mail clients. It's also highly annoying when many people have politely pointed out that this practice is frowned upon. (Yeah, many others have pointed it out not-so-politely as well. This should only reflect on those folks and not be a reason to disregard the valid complaints of the others that have been nice in their requests.) Additionally, I'm sure that not everyone is proficient with filtering tools to sufficiently weed out the poster(s) they think are abusing the list as well as the many replies that are spawned. Sure, dropping every post from one person is trivial. It's less trivial to drop the ensuing discussions that they start. And it's a waste of effort to need to do so. Basic list etiquette rightly frowns on: * starting multiple threads which clog up threaded mail client displays and the list archives * answering questions with completely incorrect information * ignoring the useful replies to your own questions by others on the list It's not surprising that when requests to follow such simple etiquette is repeatedly ignored, that some resort to mockery. It's similar to what many do with politics. When you can't get anywhere with reason, try playful bashing. I'm not speaking in favor of that, but I am not surprised to see it. Unfortunately, it further decreases the utility of the list. Personally, I've used procmail to work around the problem, to a small extent. But it has made this list much less of a place to want to spend time reading, learning, and helping others. -- Todd OpenPGP -> KeyID: 0xBEAF0CE3 | URL: www.pobox.com/~tmz/pgp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Process and Procedure are the last hiding place of people without the wit and wisdom to do their job properly.
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