In a message dated: Tue, 14 May 2002 09:27:25 EDT
Ben Boulanger said:
>I find it pretty presumptious of you to assume people should provide you
>with the summary..
Well, I don't think Derek was requesting a detailed summary, rather
he was asking people at least include some inkling as to what the
link being sent to the list was about.
If I see a post to the list like:
Subject: Check this out
http://www.blah.org/some/path/to/some/file.html
If I don't recognize the server it's pointing to, chances are I'll
ignore and delete this post.
The post you made, which prompted Derek to post his request was
slightly better than the extreme example I made. You did at least
refer to LANL, and for those who know what LANL was, that would
probably be enough to have them follow the link. I have no idea what
LANL is, or why I should be interested in it. It may turn out that
it's something I'd be very interested in, but I didn't feel like
bothering at the time. A little more info might have prompted me to
follow the link, or determined for me that I don't need to because
it's not something I'm interested in. When in doubt, I don't bother.
I know you personally don't care, but I also assume that the reason
people post links to be followed in general is for one of several
reasons:
a) they found the information interesting and wanted to share
it with the list
b) they personally don't have an interest but know of or
remember someone on the list requesting or having an
interest in what they just found
c) they want to begin a discussion on the list around the
topic, and wish to have others read what they've found
in order to establish a basis for said discussion.
If the reason is a), then it really doesn't matter whether or not
people follow the link. But if the reason is b) or c), then it would
be rather helpful if those on the list followed the link. If no one
follows the link, then it's completely defeated the purpose of
posting the link in the first place, and you may as well not have
bothered.
To summarize, if you *want* people to follow the link you've posted,
it's in your own best interest to at least make a reasonable effort
to include some description of what the link refers to. It doesn't
need to be a summary, just enough of a description to let people know
what the website contains so they can make an informed decision as to
whether or not they should spend time following it.
Btw, this is not meant to criticize you or anyone else on this list,
it is simply a clarification of what I believe Derek meant in his
request.
--
Seeya,
Paul
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