Conference napalm::guitar

               
    	Well, not everyone will bother to look in the "for sale" or
    "events" note, *every* time they log in. From the advertizer's
    perspective, those constraints make their effort less effective. 
    
    	You'll miss "catching" a possible interest in someone who doesnt 
    know they have it, "yet". Like, "Gee, I wasnt really looking for two 
    18" JBL's, but for $100, I'll take 'em" or "Gee, I wasnt really 
    looking for something to do this friday night, but since I can 
    plainly see that BANZAI is playing, I might go". It works like that.
    
    	Of course, everyone's supposed to have their life's plans concisely 
    laid-out, and if they need to buy something or want to do something
    on friday night, they'll know ahead of time and make an explicit
    effort to "check the for sale and events note". Spontaneity? Out
    the proverbial window!
    
    	This is a completely subjective call, and I've dealt with others
    in other files who "dont want to sort thru notes they're not interested
    in". I mean, this *is* a data base server, with content adressable
    capabilities for finding specific material - what more do you want?
    Keywords set for every entry?
    
    	Let the computer do what it's been designed to do - sort it
    out!
    
    	Joe Jas

    I'm all for dedicated notes.
    
    I don't think you can worry about people who DON'T use next unseen
    to read new notes.  They can miss something wherever you put it.
    
    For folks who use next unseen, dedicated notes are an advantage
    to the seller, the buyer and the disinterested.
    
    The seller and buyer have the advantage that people know where to
    look, the buyer has the advantage that if he sorta "thought about
    it" the first time he saw it, and later decided to buy it, he
    can easily find it.
    
    The distinerested has the advantage that he only has to hit one
    key to skip over "for sale" ads rather than skipping through each
    one that comes under a new topic.
    
    The only guy who doesn't get an advantage out of this is the moderator.
    Cause you can bet that about half the ads will NOT be put in the
    right note, and he'll have to move them.
    
    	db - moderator of MUSIC conference

    I also support dedicated topics. For several reasons.
    
    1. by dedicating notes to for sale, whois gigiing where etc. we
    have a good place to put them and, we have a good place to browse
    after next unseen has removed said entries from use. For example
    I may have next unseened past a for sale and later find that I
    need/want a widget, in Music or Commusic I just dial up the for
    sale note and read all of them searching for that special widget.
    Here I'd have to do a dir/title="for sale" and MAYBE I'd find that
    old note, maybe.
    
    2. I keeps the notesfile clean and neat.
    
    But...on the downside the moderator(s) may have to do some work
    
    dbii
    moderator of FLYFISH and ASO_Trainers
    

    All I can offer is that the method the base note proposes (dedicated
    for sale notes/events notes) work fine in many other conferences.

    It's used in Photo, and Music just to name a few..
        
    Plus most noters use the 'next unseen' method for all notes access, 
    and tools that are available for VAXNotes like AVN (Automatic Vax-notes
    utility) also employ the use of next unseen methods in the Daily News 
    features.
    
    So I think it's a good idea.

    I feel that it will be effective 98% of the time,
    
    and..    

    I don't feel that the 'let the computer do the work' reply
    is necessarily a good practice, especially when your regarding
    computer resources  to non-business related issues.  (this is the 
    system manager in me talkin, and the Guitar conf. , as good as this 
    notesfile is, could never be justified as a business need

    This is not an issue of Database Architecture, or D.B. capabilities
    with search and query issues,  rather it's an issue of resource 
    consumption, effective use of the resources, and allocation of disk 
    space, (and so on) regarding system  that Guitar Notes resides on.
    
    My 2 cents.
    
    Put a dedicated note for such topics, and I'll use it.
    
    (Just announce it where ever necessary so that every one will
    know about it.)

    /ray    

    
    	Well, guess you all showed me! I just must be stupid, having
    "gotten away" for years with just 6 commands, once I'm in a conference:
    
    	1) 9999, or some other random number <ret>
    	2) dir <ret>
    	3) "3" or "one reply forward"
    	4) "1" or "one reply backward".
    	5) Dir/tit="__" <ret>
        6) ^y 
    
    	I dont use "next unseen" because I've never cared about the
    14,176 entries "I havent seen yet". I have a good enough way of
    running into just the one's I'm interested in, without necessarily
    resorting to the "prescribed method" or whatever. AMAF, I dont even
    understand what that is! I just push the buttons...and it works.
    
    	Now, if someone would teach me how to scroll the other screen
    that is supposedly "what I'm replying to" so I can adress each point
    made by another, I might get 7 commands under my belt!
    
    	Until then, I'll be content to simply log in twice, again on another
    window, and read what I'm replying to _there_ if need be. I spose,
    there's people who would *crucify* me for taking a whole "2" lines of the
    "connectivity limit" or whatever. I thought that's what windows are
    "for" - so you can look into things in different ways at the same
    time! (they also help you endure the _wait_ when opening conferences,
    cause you can "pipeline" the process, reading the directory of one
    while another is opening - but I know I know, the AVN could have
    it all in my mail when I come in)  
                                     
    	Whatever, it's been worth seeing the different perceptions.
    
    	Joe Jas                                
    	

    Personally, I LIKE a dedicated FOR SALE topic.  That way, as soon
    as I have a few extra dollars to spend, I know just where to find
    something to do with them!

    
    
    	Yup, dedicated is the only way to go!  Joe relax... here's a
    window command for you
    
    
                               DO OTHER WINDOW
    
    And when yer done picking up each nasty little item that needs a
    reply:
    
                               DO OTHER WINDOW
    
    
    	I've managed to stay busy for hours at a time with the OTHER
    WINDOW  command <grin>

    I don't really care whether there is a dedicated 'For Sale' note
    or not, but having observed how 'well' they work in other conferences,
    I know having one requires active moderation, because people don't
    use them.  My perception is that the conference doesn't now require
    much moderation.  I'd suggest we check with the moderator (who I
    don't even know at this point, yes, I know how to do SHOW MOD) before
    imposing on his time.
    
    Greg

    Do I detect that the natives are restless? Well, my opinions are as
    follows: Yes, some sort of order in terms of dedicated topics do make
    certain conferences more readable. This applies to more than just 
    "For Sale/Wanted" topics as I'm sure you know. At this point, 
    I have neither the time nor interest in policing this conference 
    to that extent. 
    
    When I started this conference, I felt that it would probably progress
    in much the same way a session with a bunch of musicians would
    progress. We would have extremes in abilities, knowledge,
    rates-of-learning, etc. and how this situation is handled almost always
    influences the outcome (or success) of the session. Either one person
    can take total control and try to run it all, or folks can team up and
    help each other in parallel. The second approach tends to be a bit
    more noisy and frustrating at times, but at least you are not subject
    to the heavy handed will of the leader. Usually the personalities of
    the people involved will cause the session to reach some happy medium.
    
    Whether or not we've reached that happy medium here in Guitar or not,
    I can't say. It does seem like more "For Sale" topics have cropped up
    recently. Maybe we should do something about them. However, I still
    don't care if your DTN, your name, your dog's name or your favorite
    color appear or not in the ad. 
    
    I'm interested in hearing on how the active users of Guitar feel about
    this without turning this into a huge "How to run a conference"
    discussion. This goes for readers as well as writers (and I know that
    there are many more readers than writers out there.)
    
    	rick
    

    Reorganizing a conference that has grown to this proportion is a
    real pain in the ass...I know I've been looking at how to do this
    in one of mine...and after the re-org it will require an active moderator
    to make it stay clean. Perhaps we need a co-moderator if our current
    one hasn't the time (and I want to say that I think it's ok to be
    busy and not have the time)
    
    dbii
    
    

    
    re.11
    
    Yo!!!!
    
    Keef to the rescue!!!