Subject:
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Re: Q: Follow-Up Tag
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.admin.general
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Date:
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Wed, 30 Sep 1998 20:01:53 GMT
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Viewed:
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637 times
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sarah@eskimo.com (Perhaps a Princess....) writes:
> > 1) When a thread gets off-topic in a group, is it diverted to another
> > group where it would be on topic?
>
> Not automatically. And depends on the thread. I would not think you
> should worry about a couple of off-topic posts that come up in the
> conversation in a group. BEcause trying to divert those would do more
> to distract from the conversation than the off-topic posts did in the
> first place. Conversations do migrate, to some extent.
>
> OTOH, if an off-topic discussion starts, it should probably be moved
> to the on-topic forum for having such a discussion. It takes a
> judgement call on the part of the participants.
Well said! Yes, the group names are -mostly- for a place to start a
discussion, and things are naturally going to stray a bit. It's fine to
move discussions to more appropriate groups (and you're encouraged to do
that as appropriate). Again, it's a judgment call. (Use common sense.)
> > 2) Is this what the Follow-Up To: tag is for?
>
> Yes
Well, technically, it's Followup-To: and not Follow-Up To: and it's not
a tag but an NNTP header field name. 1/2 :) Spelling it right is super-
important, but your newsreader should provide help with this.
For example, if you're using Free Agent, you can click the ">> All Fields"
button to display the "Fields:" listbox and scroll down to "Followup-To"
and fill in the "Value" box.
If you're using Netscape Composer, you can click the little "Group:" button
to the left of the group name, and when a pop-up menu apears, simply select
"Followup-To:" and type the group name next to it.
> > 3) Who redirects the thread?
>
> The person posting the message
And only messages posted as follow-ups to the message containing the
"Followup-To:" header field will be directed to the new place. The
"Followup-To:" header field doesn't redirect an entire thread, only
descendents of the node you post.
> > 4) Does this prevent the thread from growing in the original newsgroup?
>
> IF enough people carry the off-topic conversation to the new group,
> and the newsgroup regulars don't want to off-topic conversation there
> and keeps reminding people that DON'T carry the thread to the on-topic
> newsgroup that they ought to, then the Thread will move. It requires
> eternal vigilance on the part of the posters to a group, though. As on
> UseNET
Also, outside of straying topics, the best use, I think, for "Followup-To:"
is on the first post of an article to a group like announce, lego.reviews,
or lego.dear-lego. Like if you post to announce that the Mars expansion
kit is shipping, then follow-ups should be directed to build.robotics. Or
if you post to lego.reviews about a new ZNAP set, follow-ups should be
directed to lego.general or build.general (your choice, depending on the
tone of the review, I suppose). Or if you post to lego.dear-lego about
bulk parts, then follow-ups should be directed to build.general. But if
you post to lego.dear-lego about Star Wars licensing, then follow-ups
should be directed to lego.general or maybe lego.fan.starwars. Your call.
But the idea is to keep the bulk of the discussion out of the special
"info" groups like the announcements, reviews, and dear-lego.
[I hope I didn't just totally confuse anyone.]
--Todd
> > Also,
>
> > 6) What about cross-posting to the groups, what and how much is
> > appropriate?
>
> A reasonable amount :) Where necessary :) Cross-posting is a good way
> of redirecting off-topic posts. Cross-posting with Follow-ups set to
> the new group, and a mention in the post what you are doing
>
> Sarah Heacock
> sarah@eskimo.com
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Q: Follow-Up Tag
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| (...) Not automatically. And depends on the thread. I would not think you should worry about a couple of off-topic posts that come up in the conversation in a group. BEcause trying to divert those would do more to distract from the conversation than (...) (26 years ago, 30-Sep-98, to lugnet.admin.general)
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