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Re: [ga-full] Re: [ga] www.dnso.org/archives.html



On Mon, Feb 28, 2000 at 03:00:20PM -0500, Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law wrote:
> The page describes as "GA with rules" all traffic on the GA list from its
> inception.  My understanding is that during that period, the actual series
> of events is -- more or less -- something like this.  I don't know the
> exact dates.
> 
> Period 1: no filtering at all

A fairly short period of time -- it is clear that Jeff Williams was 
filtered out partway through the first archive.  So filtering applies 
to every archive.

> Period 2: ad hoc secret filtering without any "rules" written down
> anywhere
> Period 3: no filtering while rule-set debated
> Period 4: current rule-set
> 
> Whatever the exact state of affairs, as I understand matters it is not the
> case that there were filtering "rules" at all relevant times from July 3,
> 1999.  Indeed, there were no "rules" until the current period.  

Filtering has been in place through at least part of the period for 
every one of those archives.  We can quibble over the meaning of the 
term "rules" -- certainly one possible use of the term is as a synonym 
for "filters", but that really is a quibble.  

> It seems to me uncontroversially good to accurately describe historical
> events.  If my description above is not right, I'd be happy to have the
> person/people who know put in the correct one -- with the relevant dates.
> 
> I don't think this is a very difficult work item.

Modulo the quibble, the description is completely accurate as it is --
there have been filters applied to every one of the archives except the
one explicitly notated as having "no rules".

In my opinion "the quibble" is petty beyond redemption -- there are 
several other places where the English isn't perfectly idiomatic, and 
given that there are lots of non-native english speakers who look at 
the site, that seems only fair.

Finding the exact dates for when the various filters have been applied
is probably impossible.

>  I have mentioned it
> before on this list, and I can't see why fixing it should take more than
> 10 minutes.

It ain't broken.  It is exactly accurate.

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain
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