> starting to act as if news.answers had an "aura of authority" would be a
> VeryBadThing
Failing to recognize that news.answers in fact has an "aura of
authority" is simply denying reality. You may prefer that it did not,
but it does. In addition, any document labelled "FAQ" by its poster has
an aura of authority, especially if posted on a schedule as is expected
of an FAQ. I often wish that aura were more difficult to obtain, but I
don't control reality either.
> > - the news.answers project has suffered damage from this
> > abuse of its good name
> It's not really a project in the sense you consider it (ie. something
> having to do with the moderators' own work), and IMHO should not become
> one either.
news.answers would not exist without the work of the moderators.
> It's not an accessory, it could not safeguard even if it tried, and
> those mailbombers and their instigators have prefectly been capable of
> doing it without news.answers in any event...
As Al very clearly pointed out in his note, the fact that someone
could and would have perpetrated an act without your assistance does
not lessen your responsibility for your part.
> Well, no. They provided an open forum for presenting information.
news.answers is not and never has been an open forum. It is a forum
with very clear rules and requirements. Those rules and requirements do
not include restrictions on who is permitted to post, but that alone
does not make it open.
> Usenet in general, and news.answers in particular, is not a cure for the
> ills of society. If you want to improve it, do it on your own accord
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We are not solely
individuals and do not act solely as individuals. Groups can accomplish
things that every individual acting alone could not. No man is an
island.
Edward Reid <edward@paleo.greensboro.fl.us>
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