Yeah, but think of it like this. If you bottom post, someone cruising
through the thread has to read the same drivel over and over before reaching
your well thought out opinion.
They don't "have" to read anything. If you buy a newspaper,
are you somehow FORCED to read every article? All that's
required are markers to distinguish it, and the only
repetition should be the points being discussed.
You might counter by suggesting the use of snippage - but as someone who
once got paid to write, I can tell you, snipping is a __very__ delicate
operation.
You're trying way too hard to stretch a point. This is a
casual conversational medium, not a for-pay print article.
Slip when you snipand the snippee screams foul at the top of
his/her
Scream away.
In fact, if I were braver, or just more primitive, I would have killed an editor I once had......
That's just ridiculous. You have the option to "opt out",
to leave or take it up with superiors if you think your
point of view on the matter has merit. Send out some
resumes, get a different job, if the editor can't agree with
your vision of how the article should be. Remember, you're
getting paid for it, it's not all perfume and roses 24/7.
Thus one cruising thru the thread must also judge the quality of snippage -
way too much work forusenet.
Self-imposing excessive ideals then arguing about what
you've self imposed is like a dog chasing it's tail. If you
don't want to do the amount of work _you_ feel you should
then don't participate, or read fewer threads spending more
time on each.
And I have seen folks on usenet snip to avoid a point/argument in the
previous post - so perhaps one should have to post a bond or get a license
before one is allowed to perform that sensitive operation.
If a loon walks up to you in a store parking lot and says
"your car is purple", are you REQUIRED to argue that it's
not until the loon agrees (which s/he might never concede)?
Of course not, it is only ego that makes one think that
whatever they write, a respondant is required to counter it.
On the one hand, legitimate points should be countered and
if the respondant makes no effort to do so to a significant
extent, it could be a sign of a failing argument, but on the
other hand, this is usenet, brief posts not a lengthly,
professionally peer reviewed scientific research endeavor,
and anything read can be taken or ignored for what it's
worth (remembering all the while that we're not getting paid
and have no particular quality standards to meet in order to
avoid employment related repercussions with only rare
exceptions).
You've gone off on a tangent instead of seeing that *most*
people manage to use usenet effectively enough. It remains
an effective forum by realizing what minimal effort is
required to keep things orderly, while simultaneously
realizing nobody answers to anyone else, it is more similar
to peer
eer, not an employee:employer/boss/etc relationship
between participants.