Re: Ads on rec.games.pbm, The Real Post

From: David desJardins <desj@ccr-p.ida.org>

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 00:00:00 +0000

Sol III GM <soliiigm@aol.com> writes:
> You are the reason I am not posting ads, as well as the reason a
> number of people are not.  What your opinion is on this subject does
> tend to be something that people need to hear, since you are the one
> that told me you would inform my ISP that I was violating Usenet
> Policy if I ever posted another ad.

I don't get why this makes his opinion important to you.  It seems to me
that what matters to you should be your ISP's opinion.  I think there's
little danger that it will choose to substitute Greg's opinion for its
own, or give him any special authority.  If you aren't sure whether
something you are posting is acceptable use for your provider, you
should ask it, or learn enough about Usenet to form your own opinion;
there's no reason why you should blindly worry about any one other
person's opinion.

>>> What is the exact problem with posting a non-hype information 'ad'
>>> about an established game, especially if this is only being done on
>>> say, a bi-monthly basis (Although I noticed that a lot of folks
>>> would like seeing tasteful ads on a montly basis)?

I think the problem is that no one wants to see the same postings over
and over and over again.  That's just annoying.  There are other ways
for you to distribute information that does not change (a web site is a
good example).  Most people expect Usenet postings to contain new
information, not the same stuff they saw the previous month, and the
month before that, and dozens and dozens of times before that.  Each
medium should be used in a way that matches its strengths.  Usenet is
good at distributing information in a timely fashion to a relatively
stable community.  It's not so good at gradually reaching a larger and
larger audience with the same message, because you have to post the same
thing to thousands and thousands of people who have already read it,
just to catch the few new readers each month.  It's not so easy as you
imply for people to skip the repetitive postings, and they shouldn't
have to.

David desJardins

--
Copyright 1997 David desJardins.  Unlimited permission is granted to quote
from this posting for non-commercial use as long as attribution is given.

References

Re: Ads on rec.games.pbm, The Real Post
soliiigm@aol.com (Sol III GM)
Mon, 09 Jun 1997 00:00:00 +0000