Comp.sources.unix and replacing Rich Salz

[Scott Simpson]

In article <1990Nov28.214659.26551 at looking.on.ca> brad at looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) writes:
>In article <10820 at rayssd.ssd.ray.com> gmp at quahog.ssd.ray.com (Greg Paris) writes:
>>The people I don't understand are the Rabid Salz Defenders.  The
>>newsgroup has been next to worthless for well more than a year now.
>>How can they defend the job he's been doing?  One may like the guy
>>personally, fine, but please recognize that he's been doing nothing,
>>effectively, for comp.sources.unix for a long time.
>
>They defend in reaction to attack.  USENET doesn't work the way it is
>implied that you think it does.  People who work to build usenet do things,
>but they have no duty to do so.   To *not* do something is not a negative
>thing.   So complaints that "these damn volunteers aren't working as hard
>as I think they should for me" are not always taken well.
>
>People want to hear constructive comments about what you are going to *do*
>about something, not what you don't like about it.  (Of course, that has
>never stopped people from yammering away about what they don't like :-))

What a bunch of crap. If you take over a moderatorship and you don't
live up to your time commitments then you have gone back on your word.
There are people who do have the time to moderate comp.sources.unix
and who have volunteered and I and many others in the USENET community
would rather have them moderating comp.sources.unix. Just because Greg
isn't willing to become the cook doesn't mean he should accept burnt
eggs.

>If you can't *do*, we may not be so keen on having you teach.   That's the
>way USENET works.  Those who put their time and effort and resources into
>doing things are the people who make and control the network.  If you are
>not willing to put those things in, you get no say.

Does my vote in the local election not count because I'm not a
politician? I think not. A person cannot champion every cause that
crops up; I can't fight the rain forest destroyers and try to cure
hunger in Africa and try to stop the homeless problem, ad infinitum;
but I can pick one item and fight for it. Greg chooses not to lead the
moderatorship job but that is no reason to criticize him for
complaining. Those who complain do a lot more for the process that
idle wall flowers. (Thoreau or Patrick Henry or somebody has a much
more elegant phrasing of this position.)
Scott Simpson			TRW			scott at coyote.trw.com