Re: FAQ on CD-ROM.

Kent Landfield (Kent_Landfield@sterling.com)
Fri, 16 Dec 94 9:25:50 CST

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In reply to: Regebro, Lennart: "Re: FAQ on CD-ROM."

>
> >Actually, this should in _all_ versions. People do get FAQs from FTP
> >sites, and some of them are quite out of date.
>
> I hav a statement in my FAQ that says that I don't allow re-distibution of my
> FAQ without asking me first. That means, that if my FAQ is on a FTP site that is
> NOT an *.answers archive, they have violated that statement. The statement is
> there so that people wont distribute old copies.
>
> I do say where to get the latest one, but if the get it from rftm.mit.edu or
> some of the other FTP sites that archive *.answers, it will always be the latest
> version.
>
> The CD-ROM issue going out now will be out of date when it comes out...

Don't be an ass! If you restrict FTP retrieval of your FAQ the only thing
that will come from it is that archive administrators will stop distributing
*ALL* FAQs. Pay Attention!

Think about it from and archive owner/admin perspective. NO ONE has the time
to review each and every one of the, what 2100+, FAQs to assure your petty
restrictions are followed. I and my company do this as a service to the
community. If you start placing restrictions in such a manner that we
must review every FAQ then all FAQ authors will suffer. Sites will spend
their time improving their archives with material that is as useful and
makes the archive and its owners much less vunerable to your nussance suits
and bad publicity.

If you are going to be soooo damn petty then about your precious words being
a month out of date that you are willing to threaten FAQ archives, you really
need to get a life. Mad, yeah I'm mad. RTFM will be hit *much* harder if
admins on busy archive sites such as mine quit distributing FAQs as a public
service.

How many more people have non-FTP clauses ? This type of attitude and
"distribution clause" is really pushing the edge of breaking down a very
useful facility.

If you are so worried about your words making someone else a penny or if
you are into control or if your changes are so precious as to make everything
you wrote the month before *TOTALLY USELESS* then DON'T POST.

Don't screw up something that was designed and developed to educate people
as well as to cut down on the net.noise. The FAQ/*.answers mechanism was
*NOT* designed to be your private publishing media. It was meant to provide
assistance. Seems that for some on this list, FAQ publishing is nothing
more than an ego trip.

[ For the normal FAQ maintainers who are not so unreasonable, I am sorry ]
[ for my outburst. Distribution restrictions of this type threaten your ]
[ FAQs distribution as well. So please, understand my concerns. ]

Speaking as the author of multiple FAQs and as the Corporate Archive
Administrator of ftp.sterling.com.

-Kent+

-- 
Kent Landfield                        INTERNET: kent_landfield@sterling.com
Sterling Software                     UUCP:     uunet!kent || sparky!kent
Phone: (402) 291-8300                 FAX:     (402) 291-4362
Please send comp.sources.misc-related mail to kent@uunet.uu.net.

Next message: Tim Pierce: "Re: The letter is way off base..."
Previous message: Jeff Knapp: "Re: The letter is way off base..."
In reply to: Regebro, Lennart: "Re: FAQ on CD-ROM."

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