🚀 go-pugleaf

>betsys@cs.umb.edu (Elizabeth Schwartz)
> Here's two simple examples:
[ boring examples deleted...]

this could have been done without quoting and using a clear, short
subject line on the original articles (non-existant as they were).
The subject line is a very good source of maintaining the context
IF it is used correctly.  I have xrn configured to sort the subject
headers so that I read (or ignore) all related messages in sequence.

>kozlowsk@acs.ucalgary.ca (Don M. Kozlowski)
> From the man pages for rn (my current favorite reader)
>           HIDELINE

Thank you Don, however I use xrn, though I am planning to look at the
'toggle-header' resource definitions for a solution.

>In <MCGLK.93Jan19135648@yang.cpac.washington.edu> Ken McGlothlen writes;
[about automatic responsed to dud posters...]

This can only result in the automatic posting wars of alt.sources
recently where a poster, who made a simple mistake, went nuts and wrote
some code to automatically post to alt.sources all the respectful notes
mailed to him.  Had the alt.sources net-cops been doing it from
automatic processes a very bad loop would have resulted.  So basically
the problem here is not just advising people to do the right thing but
to tell them in such a way that they WANT to do the right thing ;-)
unfortunately (or otherwise) there are too many variations of
personality on the net, so NO single solution is ever acceptable to
all concerned.

(Obligatory Solution (Its in the subject line ;-))

  Perhaps there should be a .inewsrc file that contains
a flag to 'override quote_check' for those that feel in necessary to 
quote a lot (or all) of an article as part of replying.

  The bottom line here is maximizing user configurability since you can
NEVER satify all users.

  It is certainly easier to maintain context by quoting whole or large
portions of articles, but with some effort (as above I hope) some
'summarizing' of the original can acheive the same context flow.

  Now what about a filter that ensures the messages subject line bears
some resemblance to the articles contents.  With the option to turn it
off in the .inewsrc file of course :-)  (just kidding folks, stay cool)

-- 
Mark W. Watson                      | mark@wehi.edu.au
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute | Ph: +61 3 345 2555
P.O. Royal Melbourne Hospital       | Fax: +61 3 347 0852
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