Re: An experiment in information management
- From: Robert Grumbine <bobg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:57:26 -0500
In article <h4lds3$h25$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Perhaps it is the phase of the moon or the heat of the northern summer but
to me this NG has been afflicted with more than a normal number of
meaningless and off-topic threads lately. {Whatever you may think of madman
he was at least mostly on-topic and some of the rebuttals to his posts were
interesting.} So experimentally I blocked all posters who I didn't want to
read for any reason, that is those who consistently post:
- off topic and boring
- personal vendettas and abuse
- nothing but pointless and repetitive slogans
- boring trolling.
Note that I did not try to filter point of view or expertise, nor all
off-topic nor all trolling. The volume was reduced substantially. There
are some sad people out there with much time on their hands.
I tried to read this way for a week. It was hopeless: Sierpinski carpet
after acid attack. It took longer to deduce what each thread was about than
it takes to skim the greater volume. Having the nym there and the initial
post no matter who makes it allows more efficient mental filtering for me.
Silly of me to imagine it could be otherwise but I do like to test ideas and
not just assume the result. So they are all unblocked again.
A question for those who have been reading here for years. Is this a
continuing trend or a cycle? Is there hope for a return to more on-topic
content?
There's a seasonal cycle, and a trend. The long-term trend has been
downward for probably as long as I've been around here (1991), at least to
judge by comments made back at that time by the Old Ones. Certainly
in my tenure there's been both growth of posting (total volume) and
decline in fraction that's on topic. Total volume might be down some from
the peak, but fraction off topic seems still to be increasing.
Of course it should be kept in mind that pun cascades have always been
on topic, which shows you something about the starting point.
Also of course, if you're seeing a drop in on-topic content, you can
always put up something to be chewed on. The science types are always
interested in flesh to rend. Beating ground where tradition tells us
a horse died many years ago is not nearly as fun.
--
Robert Grumbine http://moregrumbinescience.blogspot.com/ Science blog
Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they
would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences
.
- References:
- An experiment in information management
- From: David Hare-Scott
- An experiment in information management
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