Re: Fediverse newsgroup

William Stickers <[email protected]> wrote:
>Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>William Stickers <[email protected]> wrote:

>>>>. . . 

>>>Seriously, Adam, what's the point?  There's over a hundred thousand
>>>empty froups. No one is going to notice another one. It just doesn't
>>>matter any more.  If I could find a swerver that would accept a control
>>>message I'd send the newgroup for him because one more empty froup if
>>>it isn't used makes no difference at all. The golden days are gone.

>>Not making things worse ALWAYS matters. Doing it right ALWAYS matters.

>>Please don't hijack the proposal. He didn't request this.

>>The first failed newsgroup made Usenet worse. The first proponent who
>>wanted a very narrow newsgroup just because he didn't want to post in a
>>broader newsgroup and wasn't discussing the topic harmed Usenet.

>>Of course it's always mattered whether anyone is discussing the topic.
>>Are we here for discussion, or are we here to make empty froups?

>I don't disagree with your sentiments. IMO if more people had cared a lot
>sooner maybe it wouldn't be nearly dead now. Nearly all the groups that
>went through the proper process are dead and it's not down to the proper
>process being or not being followed, it's mainly down to trolling from the
>likes of altopia and spam from google. They're gone now having done their
>damage, but it is what it is and there is no fixing it. A thousand more
>dead froups is gonna make no difference to it now. I don't want to hijack
>this, I just wanted to say I can't see what difference it makes any more.

The advantage of alt.* over the Big 8 is that there are no hoops to jump
through. We have a suggested format for the newgroup message that
includes no boilerplate at all.

Sometimes we recommend alt.* or the Big 8 depending on how groups for
similar topics were named, just to make it easier to find.

(There is no "we" as most others have lost interest in configging
discussion.)

But the process on Usenet has always been about finding and promoting
discussion of the topic. Whether the proponent or the hierarchy
administrator sends the newgroup is irrelevant to whether the topic is
being discussed or whether it will be discussed in future.

That's been the nature of Usenet since the beginning.

It's all about discussion and promoting discussion. Being a decent
proponent is actual work. Such people are rarities.