[Coco] Pros and Cons

[James Dessart]

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005, Boisy G. Pitre wrote:

> Why go through this when Google Groups is (a) already established and 
> we've used it before and (b) we are just creating another level that 
> people have to go through to find us?

We aren't going to create this, it has already been done. The only things
that need to be added are more Coco-listers linking to the signup page,
and making sure the posts stay archived. Gmane takes care of that, so
great.

> > If someone isn't willing to stand up and be counted, why should they be
> > allowed to stand up and speak?
> 
> Again, I don't see this as the issue, as much as convenience.

Is it more convenient to wade through piles of anonymous garbage?

> Not a big deal.  More people can call up a web browser and set up an 
> account than a mail server.  Again, this is a wash.  I don't see one 
> being any harder than the other.

Then why change things?

> Google is redefining the "usefulness" of newsgroups.  In fact, I think
> Google is the shot in the arm that Usenet needed.

Or the shot to the head for what it used to be. Of course, any spammer
with a news server has a pile of addresses for harvesting.

The effort would be better spent increasing the visibility of current
services than moving to a new service that really gives us no benefits.
You say it's more convenient, but you seem to be forgetting certain
aspects of convenience.

James