Re: RGP: Newsgroup VS Forum

On Jun 24, 7:32 pm, metallik <metal...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
So it's okay to rely on a single entity like Google but not any other
single entity?  Got it.  Thanks.

Single entities are always a bad idea, but if we're going to rely on
one, it might as well be a multi billion-dollar entity that isn't
going anywhere.  Plus, this is just for searching - normal feeds will
still be available all over, and there's nothing stopping anyone from
keeping their own searchable archive of RGP.

The biggest reason I'm a "stickler" for this is that I think at a
certain point you reach saturation in a newsgroup, and about 500 posts
per day on this group is probably it.  At this point we're pushing
people out by overwhelming them, which keeps the numbers from getting

Who left solely because of volume?  I figure a few people left due to
flamewars and other such nonsense, but has anyone actually left solely
because there were too many posts?  I don't think anyone has.

valuable contributors (and we've had plenty of reports of people
leaving RGP for that reason already!), and I don't like that.  Give

Link to a couple of these reports.

multiple forums?  Oh, to sell ads... :)   Not that a lot of forums do
THAT these days  *rolls eyes*

You should really prepare yourself for the day when you can't keep
getting valuable services for free here on the Internet.  Usenet is
basically free right now, and that day is ending.

It's not free - it's part of the service I'm purchasing from my ISP.
If some ISPs choose to provide inferior service by eliminating Usenet,
folks who value that service should complain and find another
provider.  Or find a free Usenet service like Teranews.  Or use
Google, or another web portal.  Choice is good.

The time may not be right.  Usenet isn't dead yet.  But it took a big
hit this week, and a few more is all it's going to take...

...and you're standing at the ready, stake in hand, ready to deal the
final blow :)  Sure, Usenet may eventually die, but I still feel is
superior to forums and will continue to use it until a critical mass
of people stop.

It's waning, but not as fast as its traffic on RGP waned.  Not nearly,
IMHO.

See the other thread about the decline of 'pinball' searches on google
in general.  Pinball itself is in a bit of a decline, the economy
sucks, shipping costs have increased, folks have left the hobby for
reasons totally unrelated to RGP...   overall, a lot of factors
contributing to less traffic here.  And weren't you just complaining a
few paragraphs ago that there was too much traffic driving people
away?   Which is it, too much or too little?  :)

So I have to wade through 500 posts in a day just to see the 25 I care about?
You don't think that doesn't make a lot of people say "to hell with it, I
don't have the time to sift it any more"???

Unless they're REALLY lazy or pressed for time... no.  It takes 20
seconds to scan a page of headers for something interesting.
Newsreaders let people easily flag threads they like or are
participating in.  If you DON'T READ the threads you don't care about,
scanning headers and reading RGP is quick and easy.  Unless you like
to read LOTS of threads, in which case, forums wouldn't help at all -
you just like to read a lot, period.

It's not about reading the posts, it's about having to sift through even
all the subject lines.  How is this so hard to understand?  

Very hard, since skimming subjects is dead simple and it's trivial to
sift the wheat from the chaff.  Hell, splitting stuff into multiple
forums would only make it take longer, since many people would be
interested in multiple 'sections' and have to go into each forum and
skim them all individually.

I mean when a big ISP like Time Warner can just drop it with not much
backlash...

So let's see some backlash.  Not from you, obviously...  :)

If it dies, it dies... but I'll use it til then.  Just like IRC -
still kicking, although not quite as big as it was 5 years ago.

The google validation B.S. every time you post is reason enough to
find a viable alternative. Now before you "newsgroup reader snobs" get
all upity-yes I am aware of usenet reader that blow google groups away
in the functionality department-but they just don't cut it in the
convenience department. Google syncs all my stuff regardless of which
computer or location I'm at. But there are a bunch of negatives that
go along with the convenience.
.

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