Re: ATM atm newsgroup

["Michael P Lindner" <mpl@wnmail.wndev.att.com>]

> I think an atm newsgroup is an idea to look at.

Having had some experience in this area (mailing list becoming a newsgroup),
I can offer the following advice.

1. The netnews folks don't consider it appropriate to simply replace or
   mirror an existing mailing list with a news group. If you can make an
   argument that a portion of the list traffic should be split off into a
   news group, that's OK.

2. They generally want to see a list subscribership of 500 or more, and
   traffic of at least 30 messages/day, for the topic to be considered of
   widespread enough interest to form a news group.

3. This list is MUCH more interactive than netnews, where posts can take up
   to 3-4 days to reach some sites.

4. Posting to a newsgroup acts as a SPAM magnet.

5. Many sites only carry a few days worth of news, so if you go on vacation,
   you miss stuff (although you could wait until the next month and look at
   the archives).

6. On the plus side, more people "see" a newsgroup than a mailing list
   (although with something like 15,000 newsgroups, it's more likely that
   only a SPAM-bot will see the group, in it's search for e-mail
   addresses).

Not that I want to see Mel on the hook, but I feel he's doing a much better
job than the service a news group would provide.

--
Michael P Lindner