Posted by William Davis on 06/20/06 00:43

In article <44971fec$0$22086$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net>,
Spex <No.spam@ta.com> wrote:

> Martin Heffels wrote:
> > On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:14:53 -0700, P.C. Ford <meoh@mouse-potato.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Please go away. The both of you.
> >
> > You are using the great Forte Agent, in which you can kill somebody or a
> > certain subject for a selected time, upon which the filter will be
> > automaticaly deleted again. Nappy and Tapeguy, and the few others biting in
> > that thread won't really disappear. The are too hardheaded for that. Maybe
> > it's time you take up the user manual of Agent and learn how to apply such
> > filters for your peace of mind :-)
> >
> > cheers
> >
> > -martin-
>
> Quite right Martin.
>
> If you don't want to read a particular thread then just don't open it.
> There are various ways in which to achieve this goal without acting like
> a newsgroup bouncer.
>
> The beauty of usenet is that people cannot get banned and therefore
> cannot be censored. Its a strength that should be celebrated no matter
> how daft a thread may get. They always fizzle out in the
> end.....eventually....

Well, to a certain extent.

The other factor to consider is that usenet postings are effectively
archived for the foreseeable future. And all worthwhile newsgroups
constantly attract newbies.

So allowing someone to come in and spread patently false information -
whether it's a PC guy trashing Macs, or a Mac guy trashing PCs - is more
than just annoying. It's a disservice to the new readers who might not
recognize polemic screed and will think that what they are reading is
factual.

They go and not only do their own work with what they read here in mind,
but they often go out and repeat what they've learned here as gospel.

When it's factually incorrect. When it's one guys lousy experience
masquerading as a knowing treatist on how that hardware or software
ALWAYS works� others have a right to know that someone else with
different opinions feels that persons opinion is a crock.

In that case, it's not only worth posting a reply, it's a public service
to those who might benefit from whatever solution is being unfairly
trashed.

Nothing wrong with that.

[Back to original message]