Gateway proposal dropped

[Una Smith <una@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As no one is especially keen on having a gateway between PALEONET
and sci.bio.paleontology, one will not be set up.  I appreciate
the concerns about greater volume.  I won't pursue this any more.

However, I feel I must address a common misperception that many
PALEONET contributors seem to have about Usenet:  that it is full
of cranks and people who will dump trash in sci.bio.paleontology.
The WORLD is full of cranks and people who dump trash.  The same
comments can be (and often are) made about mailing lists.  The
main difference between newsgroups and mailing lists is that the
newsgroups are more convenient to read, thus usually there are
more readers and more articles.  It's a simple matter of volume.
To equate Usenet with cranks and trash is unfair and grotesquely
inaccurate.

Obviously, PALEONET is read by many people who are not trained
paleontologists.  These readers, like most people (including most
people who read Usenet newsgroups), recognize and respect the
character and quality of PALEONET.  What is PALEONET's charter?
To discuss topics in paleontology, at a professional level.  That
is why I subscribed.  IMHO, whether or not I am a paleontologist
is irrelevant.  I hope you agree.

So let's give Usenet, and PALEONET, a break, okay?

	Una Smith			una.smith@yale.edu

Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT  06520-8104