Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site rochester.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!mhuxn!mhuxb!mhuxr!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!rochester!bukys From: bukys@rochester.UUCP (Liudvikas Bukys) Newsgroups: net.news.adm,net.news.sa Subject: huge package, article 01 of 99 Message-ID: <6225@rochester.UUCP> Date: Wed, 6-Feb-85 12:29:21 EST Article-I.D.: rocheste.6225 Posted: Wed Feb 6 12:29:21 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 8-Feb-85 02:15:47 EST References: <812@cbosgd.UUCP> <924@dual.UUCP> <615@amdcad.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept. Lines: 43 Xref: watmath net.news.adm:259 net.news.sa:99 Summary: profligacy considered harmful > ... and not all of it is due to the massive postings of maps and sources ... As someone who is tired of having my /usr/spool fill too many times in the last few weeks, I must disagree. All of a sudden, too many individuals are posting BIG packages, many of which are available by other means. Font disks, RFCs, huge games, huge packages, repostings of huge games, more repostings of huge games. Not only that, in many cases these things are posted all at once, almost guaranteed to overflow a disk and result in numerous reposting requests. Then there is the fact that more binary files are being posted than ever before. The growth in other groups has been steady and probably too large too. But the profligate behaviour in the source groups is really too much. What are the problems? Too many people perceive net posting to be "free". There is a decreasing consensus as to what an appropriate big posting is. (Someday you'll want to stop paying phone bills for megabytes of 6502 code for other peoples' washing machines and toaster ovens.) There is no civilized way to get lost articles. ETC. What is the short term solution? Peer pressure, I guess. RULES: --> think before you post, don't post if it's available by other means, don't post more than one piece a day <--. What is the long term solution? a system for distributing information about which uucp neighbors have which packages available for file transfer. What's really going to happen? Some day, "!net.sources" will appear in lots of sys files... For now, if anyone's listening, people will be more restrained for a while, there will be a lull, and we'll go through this again in 6 months or so. --- The situation is critical, and you super-posters and potential super-posters should take note; the credit for the imminent collapse is yours. This means you! --- Liudvikas Bukys rochester!bukys (uucp) via allegra, decvax, seismo bukys@rochester (arpa)