Gresham's Law [was Re: Harmon Seaver: Why?]

[m LESLIE319@xxxxxxxx]

On 18-APR-1996 17:34:23.4 xywrite said to LESLIE319
  >"It has occurred to me that on this list, or any other list for that
  >matter, a `Gresham's Law' applies: bad posts drive out good posts. I am
  >sure that there are many subscribers to this list who perhaps wanted to
  >post something that others may well have found of value, but refrained
  >thinking it would only provoke more blather. We shall never no how many
  >other Annie Fishers and Robert Holmgrens lurking out there have decided
  >against posting here for fear of provoking more useless and narcissistic
  >palaver from the anti-Gatesians who dwell herein."

  >You are too kind to me, Leslie, and that's not false modesty. Substitute
  >Carl's and Tim's names for mine.

  I should have. My apologies to Carl and Tim, and belated tips of the
hat herewith.

  >I'll agree totally with your Gresham's Law observation. It's happened in
  >comp.publish.prepress too, where persistent braindead queries relating
  >to one implementation of the language have driven nearly all
  >programmers out of the newsgroup intended for discussion of the
  >language.

  Back in the early 1990s I used to attend those NYPC User Group meetings
at that High School auditorium over on 10th and 50th. They were crummily
organized. Before the featured speaker would come on (and often it would be
somebody like Peter Norton, if not Norton himself), there would be this Q&A
session. The guy who introduced me to this world whispered to me ("this is
when idiots ask if they can run an HP Laserjet through their digital
watches"). He wasn't far off. Oh well, when it was over, Jimmy Armstrong's
saloon was awaitin' up on 57th.


  >Virtually every topic introduced on this purported xyWrite
  >list get twisted into an excuse to discuss a generally unpopular OS,
  >with a parenthetical nod to xyW under that OS.

  Reminds me of Cato the Elder, who apparently would end every speech with
"Carthage Must Be Destroyed." Well, he got is way; but getting Gates off
the stage won't be that easy.

  >When the central
  >discussion turns momentarily to--gasp-- xyWrite, as has been the case
  >for the past day or so, the tension seems to be too much for
  >subscribers who post on nothing but their OS and one of them quickly
  >steers conversation back to that OS.

  But of course.

  >Hyping software that profits the
  >megacorp that came thisclose to murdering xyWrite to a list dedicated
  >to discussion of xyWrite strikes me as a shameless insult.

  It _certainly_ is, Annie!

  --Leslie--
`[1;31;45mRainbow V 1.19.1 for Delphi - Registered