Re: is this board alive?

WazoO wrote:
> "Mike Easter"

>> That's partly because this is a stealth or ghost or hidden newsgroup,
>> hidden from public view so that you have to have a secret passkey to
>> get in.

> Take a (fresh) look at http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/
> I may change it around a bit more, but ...???

That link is the front page to the forums, which contains 27252 posts in
11 subforums -- was there something specific in one of its parts you
wanted me to look at?

Oh, wait.  Maybe you are talking about the very top section:

SPAMCOP HOME · ORIGINAL FAQ · FORUM FAQ · SPAMCOP NEWSGROUPS

in which the newsgroups one is a link to news://news.spamcop.net/

Or, did you mean something else?

> It's been over a year since JT made his declaration, so
> not sure why there's all the aggravation.  For the
> 'average' user, your described "secret nntp groups"
> should now be visible (even to the point of confusing
> some folks over which group does what ...)

IMO, JT's 'declaration' could've been that it was his intention to only
personally do any of his posting to the forum.  The business of removing
any reference on this page http://www.spamcop.net/help.shtml in the
section Newsgroups is what makes the newsgroups .help and .mail into
stealth newsgroups.  There's nothing wrong with having .routing and
.test and control and control.cancel be stealthed, but stealthing .help
and mail isn't understandable to me.  Just because JT would rather only
attend the forum doesn't mean that everyone else should only attend the
forum.

It is one thing to 'believe' that the forums' existence would or should
stamp out the need for nntp newsgroups, but structuring things so as to
make it a self-fulfilling prophesy seems self-centered or something.
Maybe I just don't understand the thinking correctly.  I understand that
the forum has advantages.  I also understand that the nntp interaction
has advantages.  Maybe that's the part that JT doesn't understand or
agree with or something.


-- 
Mike Easter
kibitzer, not SC admin