Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!nather From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: re: re: re: ... Message-ID: <1005@utastro.UUCP> Date: Mon, 11-Feb-85 11:16:48 EST Article-I.D.: utastro.1005 Posted: Mon Feb 11 11:16:48 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 01:42:02 EST References: <8111@brl-tgr.ARPA> <450@rlgvax.UUCP> Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX Lines: 24 > Fortunately, unedited inclusions of the original article are relatively > rare, although not rare enough. It's going to get worse. We just installed the newest version of readnews, and I found to my surprise that the "f" function not only puts me in the editor, but DUPLICATES THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE IN ITS ENTIRETY, indented with ">" characters, and ending with ***REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE*** I predict most people will be too lazy to do the necessary editing to keep the net from being flooded with replications. There should also be a mechanism like a dead-man's switch, so the user must do something to each line he wants to keep, and have the rest disappear -- like replace the ">" with another character. I personally prefer to hear both sides of a phone conversation, so dialog on the net is improved, in my view, by EDITED inclusion of the item being commented upon. But I worry this "improvement" is counter-productive. -- Ed Nather Astronony Dept, U of Texas @ Austin {allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather