Public apology to Gary Oblock

Apparently I made quite a computer/newsgroup error by posting a couple of pictures to this news group. I certainly appreciate the advice and counsel give to me by Gary Oblock. He let me know what is proper and what is not as far as posting to this site is concerned. My sincere apologies to Gary and to anyone else that I may have offended. Gary is absolutely correct that we should be using this newsgroup the way he instructs and from this point on I will do my best to conform to his wishes. One thousand pardon Gary. JVR

A different Gary here, if you want some idea of the 'oh so strict' rules in this corner of the net, checkout alt.config ,which is a step to getting a new newsgroup up and running on a server. I don't know why Andrew is so strict on this point, the usenet capability has exploded over the last couple of years. I just opened a group where the two day update of posts was over 158,000 headers! The servers are at war with those posting entire movies, entire cd disks of software, entire music collections -I don't think they would begrudge the space for a few binaries. If it is a charter issue, change, or rather update, the charter.

I think binaries would be useful in this group, and times have changed.

[It's true that this rule dates from a few years back. When I started the group, alt.config was very emphatic about the no binaries rule. And I haven't noticed that my server has allocated us a huge amount more space (it's only displaying the last week's worth right now). I think it varys by ISP. I didn't have a big problem with JVR's binary either- it was (the other) Gary who apparently reprimanded him. ]

I just opened a group where the two day update of posts was

[I agree it would be nice in some circumstances to be able to share pictures here (although it might lead to a loss in verbal dexterity). But on the other hand, this could easily be abused. It's bad enough when someone (we won't mention any names here) posts repeated messages plugging his work. It would be worse if each of these was accompanied by a big fat binary- these might be the only messages some of us could see. But if enough people wanted to, we could try relaxing the no-binaries rule on an experimental basis and see what happens. Should we have a vote?]

Andrew Werby

Yes. And I vote for binaries. If a picture speaks a thousand words, I'm ready to read them and post them.

It's all very timely. We're all on track with digital cameras. It only enhances the conversation.

Frank Egan http://www.eganbronze.com 'Lights the Planet'

helping people posting questions here. Thanks Andrew. Don S. Thompson, Metalsmith

YES! We need pictures.

Folks starting out and finishing their first pieces need the encouragement to continue their studies. Being able to share their first works via attaching a picture bolsters the 'achievement' part of creating.

Pics are good.

Is the following official, Andrew?

'Commercial posts dealing with sculpture-related products are welcome occasionally, if the poster doesn't overdo it by posting too frequently (once a week is maximum).'

Then maybe make the week a month. Or more.

[Yes, that's from the current FAQ.]

[As long as it's just once a week, I don't see a problem. If there starts to be one, we can try restricting it more. Response seems to be running heavily in favor of allowing pictures, so let's try permitting them for the month of September on a trial basis. People who have a hard time receiving messages due to this should post complaints to the list, so we can know if this really causes difficulties for anyone. ]

Andrew Werby

I came here looking for pictures of sculptures and am sad to see none.... as you all must know there is no ... alt.binaries.pictures.sculpture