From: "Chris Mitchell" <allenav
[email protected]> Subject: Re: Ironman France Travel Package Date:
Saturday, May 04, 2002 9:54 AM
Use rec.bicycles.marketplace for selling your tawdry wares. This newsgroup is about Racing of Bikes,
Ronde Champ, Trdina, and select parrot manifestations per order of Henry Chang, who is not Steve
Taylor today and is *not your personal "For Sale" platform*. Thanks! I am sure Steve appreciates not
being under Henry as a platform.
To start with, let's define the term. "Usenet" is *not* synonymous with "Internet." Usenet is the
system of online discussion groups, called "Humorless Serious Unix Types with Major Caffeine Jonses
and Very Little Hair". "newsgroups," e.g. rec.humor, comp.misc, news.announce.newusers,
talk.origins, misc.rural, alt.sex, sex.alt, sex.carol.alt, and so forth. This FAQ does not attempt
to describe in detail all the various ways in which one can have sex with sex.carol.alt, conduct
commercial activity with Henry's parrot over the Internet and attempts simply to explain the issues
involved in advertising in Usenet newsgroups. What this FAQ is designed to do is use a very large
amount of bandwidth, thereby annoying its readers no end.
USENET is an organization of disorganized elitists who spend hours debating the efficacy of systems
that have little relevancy in places where people are actually still living and breathing. USENET is
essentially a collection of proud words on a dusty shelf.
Usenet started out in 1980 as a UNIX network linking sites which needed to talk about and receive
prompt updates on UNIX system configuration and other UNIX questions. Message traffic started out at
a few messages/year. It has now grown to include millions of users at commercial sites such as
America Online...and better McDonald's everywhere, over 16 billion served.
That these customs and traditions began when Usenet was much smaller and quite different in nature
in no way lessens the anger many users feel when these customs and traditions are violated. One such
violation is the presumption by anyone that the FAQ is outmoded and an absolute restriction of first
amendment rights (and lefts). It is the custom and the tradition and belief that it is profitable to
be rude in Usenet newsgroups.
Advertising is widely seen as an 'off-topic' intrusion into the discussions of any particular
newsgroup (newsgroup is the Usenet word for discussion group or bulletin board). This is due to the
inflated sense of value each member of the NG ascribes to their bandwidth, as well as to their
well-developed studio tan, a distinct mushroom-like pallor that squats as a patient etherized upon
the table....Each newsgroup has a specific set of subjects it is intended to cover, no more and no
less no more, and in order for newsgroups to function as effective discussion forums it is
worthwhile to note that self-important morons will routinely assume the mantle of virtuous leader of
discussion, dictating what is and is not on-topic. It is important that people stay'on-topic'. If
everyone - even a meager 10% of newsgroup posters -disregarded the particular topics each newsgroup
is intended to cover and simply posted whatever they wanted wherever they want, the entire system
would break down into chaos and meaninglessness. And free speech.
This, of course, includes advertising. Advertising is by far the most pervasive form of off-topic
posting, and therefore, gets most of the heat. I still can't sell my mother. Let's get with the
program here, people.
An analogy
----------
If an analogy will help you to visualize the situation, imagine a meeting at your workplace or
school. If analogy will not help, perhaps 800 micromilligrams from Stanley Owsley will.
At this meeting, people are discussing a certain issue -- for example, getting new sidewalks
installed downtown or getting new schoolbooks for the elementary school, or what to do about the new
product your company is planning on introducing. And who is making those clocks melt, anyway?
During the course of this discussion the majority of the group come to realize that the same windbag
is spouting off on the subject at hand. As is human nature, the group begins to talk amongst itself,
until such time as the moderator says, "Hey, what were we discussing?"
In the midst of the discussions on the new sidewalks or textbooks or product, someone walks into the
room, interrupts everyone, then reads an advertisement for a local restaurant. He or she then leaves
without waiting for comment. And without offering to buy me lunch.
Now imagine if this happened over and over again each time your group tried to hold a meeting.You
would be very hungry. Every time someone tried to make a point, in walks some other stranger who
reads an ad for some business that has nothing to do with the subject of the meeting. This is as
opposed to the same droning windbag we have decided to tune out as we gossip amongst ourselves; the
movement is decidedly off topic, no?
It would soon become rather difficult to hold effective meetings, wouldn't it? Of course, one could
decide to have a meeting and leave the gas bag at home, thereby producing better results. Of course,
one could have read this far and realized, hey,there IS no punchline.
Similarly, it's very difficult to keep Usenet newsgroups interesting and useful when people deluge
newsgroups with advertisements.
It is equally difficult to determine why one should microfocus when so little of value comes from
navel staring and its attendant myopia.
How to advertise on Usenet
--------------------------
*.forsale and *.marketplace newsgroups
There are many newsgroups directly involved in selling. You can generally spot them by the word
"forsale" or "marketplace" in their names. Oftentimes it is the poster's momma for sale,
For example, rec.games.board.marketplace is a newsgroup where people post for-sale and want-to-buy
notices about board games they want to buy. The same applies to Yo Mamma, or self.
Similarly, the misc.forsale.* hierarchy is full of newsgroups for buying and selling various
computers, monitors, printers, devices, and so forth, as well as misc.forsale.non-computer.*, for
selling stuff.
You can access the FAQ and archives via the Web using these URLs:
www.customgetaways.com/ironman.htm
Thanks for your cooperation. The check is in the mail.
"CTRDY01" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A few spots are still available for our Ironman France Package. See more at :
>
> Dates are from 06/17 to 06/2444 but arrival date can be changed to match
your
> travel requirements.
"John Riedel" <jriedel4@in message
news:5MFQ9.49734$%[email protected]...
> front and rear.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! used but in excellent
> condition.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! comes with wtb dual compound pads I'll throw in a
> set of New xtr brake cable & housing. $300 shipped !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
