Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 10:52:26 -0500

From: Gregory {Greg} Downing downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IS2.NYU.EDU

Subject: Re: Posts from non-professionals



At 06:50 AM 12/8/97 -0800, you ("Thomas L. Clark" tlc[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]NEVADA.EDU ) wrote:

Most of their

comments and questions would be taken care of if they took a course from

any of the professionals on the list.





Or read books by them or by others, or looked in some decent dictionaries or

other published sources before posting a query or comment. There's a lot of

reinventing of the wheel, and sometimes the wheel comes out crooked anyway.



But getting 80 to 100 messages in a couple of days



Are you sure this is accurate and representative? -- part of professional

training is accuracy.



Perhaps the answer would be to go to a moderated group for the

professionals, then have an open forum for general discussion on a

separate track. I have seen this done with humor groups: one is moderated

and sends out few, but significant items. The other is open to whoever

feels the urge to contribute.





The only way I have seen an internet list improve without the heaviest kinds

of moderation is for those who know what they are about to post

sophisticated material. This leads those who otherwise might think any old

thing is OK to hold back lest their input look not so great by comparison.

I've seen it happen on lists where I have genuine expertise, unlike here --

where I would like to learn something, if possible, but instead find the

most basic queries being posted.



Yes, I expect to receive flames from some....





Silent chagrin would perhaps be more appropriate -- though I suspect the

fault lies as much in what those who know their stuff don't bother to post

as it does in what those who don't know as much do bother posting.



Gregory {Greg} Downing, at greg.downing[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nyu.edu or downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]is2.nyu.edu