Having your posted to another newsgroup-- your thoughts?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Guess Who - 17 Jul 2004 17:05 GMT

I have seen posts posted in alt.support.cancer. breast cut and pasted in the alt.cancer.support. I am not referring to when you reply to a post and your reply automatically goes to another board since it is crossposted. I know that Usenet is basically unmoderated but I personally feel if I wanted to post information on another board I would do it. I do check that alt.cancer.support and am surprised when I see familiar names but then realize that you didn't posted there some else did it for you. Alex

Reply to this Message

Tim Jackson - 17 Jul 2004 22:51 GMT

My thought is that it is impolite.

Better would be to suggest to the original poster to crosspost or move
groups, and respect their decision.
After all the OP won't see any replies in the other group(s).
The poster may have valid reasons for their choice of groups.

Tim

I have seen posts posted in alt.support.cancer. breast cut and pasted in the
alt.cancer.support. I am not referring to when you reply to a post and your
reply automatically goes to another board since it is crossposted. I know
that Usenet is basically unmoderated but I personally feel if I wanted to
post information on another board I would do it. I do check that
alt.cancer.support and am surprised when I see familiar names but then
realize that you didn't posted there some else did it for you. Alex

Reply to this Message

Kaye301 - 18 Jul 2004 15:06 GMT

<< I do check that alt.cancer.support and am surprised when I see =
familiar names but then realize that you didn't posted there some else =
did it for you. >>

That is quite presumptuous and a blatant violation of nettiquete (news group
ettiquestte)! It also seems like a violation of HIPAA (medical privacy rights)
too as well as personal ones.

Reply to this Message

Guess Who - 18 Jul 2004 12:50 GMT

I don't think HIPPA applies to the internet <g> ALex

> << I do check that alt.cancer.support and am surprised when I see =
> familiar names but then realize that you didn't posted there some else =
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> ettiquestte)! It also seems like a violation of HIPAA (medical privacy rights)
> too as well as personal ones.

Reply to this Message

Tim Jackson - 18 Jul 2004 20:27 GMT

Posting information to Usenet constitutes publication and places it in the
public domain (assuming the author holds copyright in the first place). So
unless a specific copyright notice is applied, readers are legally
essentially free to do what they will with it, including quoting it in their
own articles - after all that is what we normally do when we reply. The
original Netiquette does not AFIK address copying, except to recommend
limited quoting in replies for context.

The object of a newsgroup is to post articles of news on the topic for which
the group exists. It is perfectly reasonable to post news found elsewhere
(eg learned journals) and copied in whole or in part, subject to the
copyright and libel laws of the poster's own country. The only etiquette
question begged is whether the article in question is of interest to the
group it is being posted to.

One might argue that news of the progress of an individual's cancer is off
topic to a cancer support newsgroup unless the individual is known to the
readers or otherwise personally newsworthy, or of course is soliciting
support. It may be cancer but it's not support. However that is for the
receiving group to decide, which in this instance is not here.

If the object of reposting is to solicit information on behalf of the
original poster, then it is pointless unless there is also a path provided
for replies to get back to the original poster.

Tim

Reply to this Message