5 Jun
2010
5 Jun
'10
9:23 a.m.
On 6/5/2010 10:00 AM, Marvin Johnston wrote:
I am impressed. This thread has managed to go on and on without any
classic computer related information. And it has also gone through a
number of topic changes in the process.
I think this one sets a new (unfortunate) record for OT discussions :(.
When a thread about a topic goes too long, on-topic or otherwise, I just
search for (topic heading), tag all the matches, and hit delete. This
is made easier by using a threaded email program (thunderbird).
One particular thread last year that I had no interest in reading was
over 1000 messages by the time it was done. I calculated the total
bandwidth it took to transmit to me, and it was roughly 700KB a day.
One 3.5" DSDD floppy disk's worth of data in a day might have bothered
me in 1990 when it took a 9600 baud modem 11 minutes to transfer, but in
2010 it takes roughly a second.
So, my perception of off-topic threads has shifted radically in recent
years; since it doesn't cost anyone significant time or money any more,
I view them as a good thing. There's a lot of useful "oral" history out
there in off-topic threads.
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/