On Sun, 20 Aug 1995, Brian Read wrote:

> Tell me again what moving to a news group will buy us?
...
> Convince me!

I'm afraid I have to agree with Brian.  There is a lot to be said for the
mailing-list format, namely that the signal-to-noise ratio is much higher
than it would be in a newsgroup, and that the spam and garbage posts are
actually much lower than we could expect in a newsgroup.

If some feel we are missing out on some spontaneous input from somebody
not on the list, I think that could be adressed by periodic postings in
relevant newsgroups, indicating the existence of this list.

As for the spam on this list, I agree it is offensive, but at the risk of
offending some people, may I point out that 90% of the traffic generated
by spam is generated from people already on the list, this message included!

If you see spam, DON'T RESPOND TO THE LIST.  You can be certain that the
perpetrator will never see it, and you will just further annoy people.

#belated vent off

-Paul