🚀 go-pugleaf

We do not receive a full feed.  Our unofficial policy is that we
receive any newsgroup which adds value to the company.  We assume that
anyone who requests a new newsgroup is doing it for the value, and add
it without question.  We remove newsgroups which are not read.  Some
employees have commented that unrestricted netnews is a condition of
their continued employment, and is therefore of value to the company
simply by virtue of keeping valuable employees.  Nobody here has
questioned the effects of netnews upon productivity.  We assume that
it enhances productivity by providing timely technical information.

If management questioned the value of netnews, I would study myself
over a week period and produce a report.  I would include the time I
spent reading news (and news-related mail) and discuss the benefits to
the company.  I would discuss how these benefits could have been
gotten without news, and what the cost might have been.  I would also
discuss historical anecdotes about how news added value to the
company, and discuss how my week's study was or was not representative
of my overall news reading pattern.  I would discuss how posting
information is the activity which generates these benefits, and
include my time spent writing articles as an overhead cost along with
telephone charges, spool space cost, etc., required to participate in
news.  I would relate my experience with what I would expect for other
news readers.  Based on the study I would make a recommendation to
management.  If I found that news wasn't worth it to the company, that
would be my frank assessment.  However, I assume I would recommend
continuing the news feed.
-- 
Ed McGuire                   1603 LBJ Freeway, Suite 780
Systems Administrator/       Dallas, Texas 75234
 Member of Technical Staff   214/620-2100, FAX 214/484-8110
Intellection, Inc.           <ed@intellection.com>