>"
[...]
>You didn't like the headers, and the easiest
>thing for me was to switch it back to what worked fine before." I
>asked for him to explain his objections, and he never replied.
I certainly understand his objections. I started the OUTPOSTS FAQ
(ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Groups/outposts.faq), was informed it should fit a
certain spec, found that spec, and found it to be a singularly anal and
restrictive format. I ignored it, and continued spreading the FAQ via
mailing lists, non-*.answers newsgroups, etc.
Some of us *do not have the time* to learn the hermetics of the secondary
headers of FAQs, and some of us really don't *care* whether it has fancy
Expires: and such headers in the real header section (ever heard of a date
and a version number? Works fine for software, works fine for FAQs).
Some of us produce documents that are better served by a specific formatting,
that differs from the "official" FAQ format, and quite frankly, I think
it's overly haughty, and extremely counterproductive, to demand a specific
format, down to the last detail, for FAQ postings to *.answers. The point
is to get information out. Period.
After scrolling through the first few dozen pages of "rules" (who died and
made these people gods?), I just hit d and went back to my business. As it
is, L.Detweiler's FAQ project is formatting mine for me, so I don't have
to deal w/it, and it does get to *.answers groups after all, but I can say
right here and now, that it would not be available via that channel if I
had to do this myself. Some of us have real jobs, and don't get to sit
and play with FAQ headers all day.
Just some food for thought. Have a look at the FAQ format FAQ. Ask
yourselves how much of this is flexible and useful and helpful and
informative. Compare that to the amount of it that is just anal and
nitpicky, restrictive, of dubious informative or functional value.
It's great to have standards and formats, and ways of doing things. But
these things are very much like goverments and corporate structures: they
are very much a form of bureaucratic red-tape, and when they become more a
burden than a help, it's time to move on.
<rant mode off>
Sorry to be forceful about this, but I've been meaning to say this for
months, it's really been eating away at me. Just one of those peeves I'd
rather not have to pet. Just kick it out the door, and away with it.
Cheerio.
-- Stanton McCandlish * mech@eff.org * Electronic Frontier Found. OnlineActivist F O R M O R E I N F O, E - M A I L T O: I N F O @ E F F . O R G O P E N P L A T F O R M O N L I N E R I G H T S V I R T U A L C U L T U R E C R Y P T O
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