🚀 go-pugleaf

	The following article posted to ott.rec.sailing from abroad raises
three points of current interest, concerning ott.rec.sailing. I'm cross-
posting it to can.config to see whether what I understand (see next
paragraph) it true of false; also because we have been asked to comment in
relation to the can.boating proposal, and my third point does that.
	First, and specifically re. ott.rec.sailing, our recently enacted
Charter embargo on cross-posted articles apparently has not yet kicked in
as this item was cross-posted. It isn't a question of content but of form;
even the most vital sailing message imaginable is to be automatically
rejected by the software, if it is posted to multiple user groups. At
least, that was the theory. If you read this, it doesn't (yet) work.
	Second, the article comes to us from the U.K., and exemplifies
what I meant earlier when I described ott.rec.sailing as "de-facto
national/international". A Vancouverite, who apparently read that remark
on can.config, claims it isn't so because his particular server doesn't
provide him with ott.rec.sailing access. Evidently access is better from
Europe, and perhaps his case is the exception which proves the rule.
	That second point only became a slight issue with the confusing
coincidence of thoughts posted on ott.rec.sailing, A) about possibly
converting our newsgroup to something larger such as ont.rec.sailing or
can.rec.sailing, and B) about establishing a new entity under can.boating.
In case anyone else is equally confused, these are two separate incarna-
tions of the basic idea, and under the second, ott.rec.sailing would
continue untouched - although perhaps not unaffected, as users may be
drained off to the larger and presumably more active/interesting forum.
	Specifically about can.boating.???, any proposal for a new
newsgroup must surely come to grips with spam. Today's Ottawa Citizen
carries an article saying the de-spammers are simply being overwhelmed.
	About the enquiry quoted below, I suppose it isn't spam. At least
it relates to sailing ... but there seems to be a fine line, sometimes,
between spam and legitimate postings. In any case, sailing and perhaps all
sports have come a long way from the days when the only logos permitted
aboard sailboats were small sailmakers' patches. Boats you now see on TV
WEAR spam, and consequently have much the junky appearance of, say, Indy
race cars. (It may be only a matter of time before spam is sewn onto the
"uniforms" of sports teams. Are you ready for Yashin, for instance,
advertising Excedrin and Goodyear and Pitney-Bowes, as he skates? Hey, a
buck's a buck - or in the case quoted hereunder, a pound's a pound.)
	It's essential to have the spam issue front and centre in
designing a new service. It seems the alt.??? groups are facing complete
breakdown because of spam - and if they're abandoned, as the paper sug-
gests, won't the spammers simply shift their sights to less abused targets? 

Pete Hodgins Sr.
				  *

"Tim Boon" (TimBoon@netcomuk.co.uk) writes:
> I am 16 years old, studying my a levels at college.  I am looking for some
> sponsership for my sailing I could display stickers on my boat and/or sails,
> or wear clothes either on the water or off the water.  I sail the
> international 420 dinghy (a double handed boat) of wich I am in the UK youth
> Suad (top 15 in the UK)  I have represented the UK on a number of occasions
> in other boats as well in Turkey, Holland, Belgium, south Africa.  I have
> just been selected to sail in Sweden this summer in the European
> Championships, as well as going to a number of other competitions any help
> that anyone can gve me is greatly appreciated, please help me , and thanks
> for all of your time, it is most appreciated.
> Please email me back at:  TimBoon@netcomuk.co.uk
> (the reason asking for sponsership is because there are ever increasing
> costs especially travelling abroad, accomadation, clothing boat equiptment,
> sails etc)
> 
> TimBoon@netcomuk.co.uk