Re: "This post is G-Rated"

At  8:57 AM 1/26/96 -0600, Mike McNally wrote:
>Bill Frantz writes:
> > An unmoderated group or list carries a higher risk of seeing inappropriate
> > material.  However even unmoderated lists have standards and those people
> > who enforce those standards.  
>
>Enforce?  Enforce?  Exsqueeze me?

On cypherpunks, Perry is the principle enforcer, although others frequently
join in.

>
> > This kind of enforcement is an example of
> > communitarian as opposed to authoritarian control.  It all depends on just
> > how vital it is to the consumer (and rating group) that NO inappropriate
> > material appear.
>
>And of course, it doesn't work.  There's an unlimited amount of
>mindless dreck floating around every unmoderated nesgroup; I've been
>reading news long enough (and NN makes it easy enough) that I avoid it
>without a second thought.  I assure you, however, that no attempts at 
>"nettiquette enforcement" are effective in a general sense.

Of course it works.  Cypherpunks stays much more on the topic than it would
without Perry.  Since Perry has no way of directly enforcing his opinions,
they can be overridden by any other posters, but his "moral suasion" does
have an effect on many of us.

Bill

Bill Frantz writes:
 > >Enforce?  Enforce?  Exsqueeze me?
 > 
 > On cypherpunks, Perry is the principle enforcer, although others frequently
 > join in.

Oh, right.  I remember now.  All the off-topic junk I see on this
list is just my imagination.  All the billions of "UNSUBSCRIBE" and
"SIGNOFF" and "SET NO-MAIL" messages I see on the mailing lists I'm on
are just bits of lint that slip by.

The "enforcement" is always a reactive thing.  I don't think you'd get
far with a parent explaining that the material they consider indecent
which somehow showed up on alt.kids.only would be dealt with by
blistering flames.

 > >And of course, it doesn't work...
 > 
 > Of course it works.  Cypherpunks stays much more on the topic than it would
 > without Perry.  Since Perry has no way of directly enforcing his opinions,
 > they can be overridden by any other posters, but his "moral suasion" does
 > have an effect on many of us.

So you think those who want a "controlled cyberspace" would be happy
with newsgroups that stay "mostly decent"?  I strongly doubt it, and I
will also add that such "enforcement" is far, far less effective on
newsgroups than on mailing lists.

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| Nobody's going to listen to you if you just | Mike McNally (m5@tivoli.com) |
| stand there and flap your arms like a fish. | Tivoli Systems, Austin TX    |
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