From: tcmay@got.net (Tim May)
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 13:25:10 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Subject: Is "alt.cypherpunks" the best choice?
Message-ID: <199702122116.NAA07232@you.got.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


(A copy of this message has also been posted to the following newsgroups:
alt.cypherpunks)


At 2:49 PM -0600 2/12/97, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:

>It is too late to stop alt.cypherpunks, but if I had to make a
>prediction again, I would predict that soon posters will BEG to help
>them create comp.*.cypherpunks, because of spam and alt.flamage.

Perhaps some will, but I've been a reader of many alt groups for many
years, and have not found them to be unusable. Alt.religion.scientology,
for example, has been a robust forum for discussion (and argument, of
course!) about Scientology.

My fear about using a "well respected" name is that the usual calls for
moderation may end up with it being moderated! And the well respected
domains are often plagued with threats by various participants that
_others_ are being "off topic," with threats to send letters to sysadmins
advising them that one of their users is debating an off-topic subject.

I have a fair amount of respect for Igor, so my comments here should not be
taken the wrong way. To wit, I recall that shortly after the "moderation"
thing began on Cypherpunks@toad.com, Igor called for Sandy to start
blocking "libertarian rants" and "crypto anarchy" discussions, apparently
feeling these are not proper Cypherpunks topics. It could be that a
"sci.crypt.cypherpunks" group, for example, would result in pressures on
sysadmins to discipline those who post "off topic" things.

(Again, I'm not saying Igor himself would do this. But there would be a
temptation for some to do so.)

For me, I can easily scan even a high volume group like
alt.religion.scientology for threads of interest (I use "NewsWatcher YA," a
good Mac-based threaded newsreader, with even support for anonymous
remailers built in). If I can read a.r.s., I can read a.cp without any
trouble.

It works for me.

--Tim May

-- 
Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
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---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
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