Mailing list commercialism (was: Thanks, Don)

[Israel Stein]

On Mon, 5 Jun 1995, Harry Doss wrote:


> If other manufacturer's technical representatives are out there, I think it
> is perfectly appropriate to offer your support by providing your email
> addresses to everyone on this open forum.
>
> How does everyone else feel about this?
>
> Harry Doss >
> Virginia Tech
> Blacksburg VA

For heaven's sake, entirely too much bandwidth is being devoted to this
matter, various versions of which have been rehashed over and over again
on every Usenet mailing list and newsgroup ever since its (Usenet)
inception.  Blatant advertising, publicity and company propaganda have
been kept off the Usenet (except for newsgroups and mailing lists
specifically designated for them) simply because if they were allowed, any
meaningful discussion would be choked off by the sheer volume of
commercial announcements. Other than that, anything that is of interest to
the subscribers of this mailing list (which, by the way, is not an open
forum) is fair game.

Most of the information posted here is, after all, used by us in making
our living. This is a mailing list with a professional - and therefore
to a certain extent commercial - orientation. It has to do with solving
problems we encounter in our work. Some of these problems are technical,
others have to do with sources of supplies and others concern
communications within the trade - including contacts with piano
manufacturers. Mailing lists and newsgroups are constantly being used by
various parties with mutual interests to contact each other, and as long as
these don't turn into blatant attempts to drum up business, there's
nothing wrong with it.

When Don Mannino starts singing the praises of particular YC models or
making special offers on this list, I'll be the first to cry foul. To
this point, however, I haven't seen anything objectionable come from
either the Baldwin or the Young Chang representation on this list. And
that includes Don Mannino's announcement of the e-mail procedure for
dealing with YC warranty authorizations. Thank you, Don.


Israel Stein