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From: dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)
Subject: Re: Papers on the Ariane-5 crash and Design by Contract
Date: 1997/03/24
Message-ID: <dewar.859212082@merv>#1/1
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References: <332B5495.167EB0E7@eiffel.com> <tz8ohcjv7cc.fsf@aimnet.com>
 				<332D113B.4A64@calfp.co.uk> <tz8g1xtzx9y.fsf@aimnet.com>
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 				<5gm8a6$2qu$2@news.irisa.fr> <3332BE49.8F9@lmtas.lmco.com>
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 <333438B5.ABD322C@eiffel.com> <33343D32.237C228A@eiffel.com>
 <33343EE3.7DE14518@eiffel.com>
Organization: New York University
Newsgroups: 
 comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.programming.threads,comp.lang.ada
Date: 1997-03-24T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>


Bertrand writes

<<It is this type of gratuitous attack that empoverishes Usenet and has
the potential to destroy it. When people who know what they are talking
about, and could contribute usefully to the debate, see this kind of
absurdity, they refrain from participating. Everyone loses.>>

Well there seems to be no way to prevent a few nitwits from sounding off,
but you don't have to listen to them. Rather than refrain from 
participating, everyone should learn how to setup kill files, filters
etc to just remove people whose contributions have a net negative worth
to you. Virtually all newsreaders have this capability.

One of the useful thinks about the comp.lang groups, and comp.lang.ada
in particular, is that there are a lot of people participating who do
know what they are talking about. Yes, we all know that one of the rewards
for posting to newsgroups is to get occasional nonsense replies and even,
as in this case, absurd personal attacks, but hopefully, the situation
is managable, particularly if aided by a well chosen kiill file :-)