A Snow and ski forum. SkiBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » SkiBanter forum » Skiing Newsgroups » Nordic Skiing
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Why don't more skiers use RSN?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 26th 03, 11:06 PM
Jeff Potter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

My ISP is a HUGE local ISP and oddly they say that I'm almost the only
user of their newsreader service (which they buy from Slurp.net).
I find it very odd that Usenet is used so little by the public.
Offhand it seems like one of the best info resources of the modern era.
Are people really THAT community-phobic or something?

I mean, out of the thousands of Englishspeaking XC buffs we get, what,
a couple dozen crazy regulars who post to RSN. And here we get such
great
answers to questions, good coaching tips, timely race info,
GREAT mpegs of races that no one else in the US will get to see.

So why is RSN used so little?

I remember how excited I got in about, what, 1993 when Usenet took off.
I thought it would be a worldchanging info resource. No more could the
big
stupid media keep out the smart little guy, I thought. Instead, it's
been only
us few weirdos who use this simple, very powerful tool.

And in terms of the Web in general, I've heard that the best place to
hide
a good project is on the Net.

Yet...yet...I saw a newstory yesterday that says 30% of Americans are
daily
users of the Net and part of the "computer elite" or some such term.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies...
...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller
about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up!
...original downloadable music ... and articles galore!
plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!


Ads
  #2  
Old November 27th 03, 12:32 AM
Bob
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

Hi Jeff,
I watch 3 ng regularly (sed, rsn, cae); Many more ng cover subjects I'm
interested in but I don't bother with the ng because of all the noise: flame
wars, mostly.

My guess is that of US computer users, less than 1% even know that usenet
exists. Of those that know of usenet, many are reppeled by the ng noise. I
get the impression that many of the people who post on rsn have been using
computers before the big boom of the WWW. I'll bet some here (not me) were
on usenet before GUI OSs.

Personally, I like the low volume of rsn - I can read all of the posts
without spending too much of my day. I've posted questions to hi volume ng
(like alt.home.repair) and have gotten useful responses, but I don't just
read everything because there's just too much. I wouldn't get anything else
done (not that I do anything anyway...)

Bob
who never top-posts anywhere but rsn ;-


"Jeff Potter" wrote in message
.. .
My ISP is a HUGE local ISP and oddly they say that I'm almost the only
user of their newsreader service (which they buy from Slurp.net).
I find it very odd that Usenet is used so little by the public.
Offhand it seems like one of the best info resources of the modern era.
Are people really THAT community-phobic or something?

I mean, out of the thousands of Englishspeaking XC buffs we get, what,
a couple dozen crazy regulars who post to RSN. And here we get such
great
answers to questions, good coaching tips, timely race info,
GREAT mpegs of races that no one else in the US will get to see.

So why is RSN used so little?

I remember how excited I got in about, what, 1993 when Usenet took off.
I thought it would be a worldchanging info resource. No more could the
big
stupid media keep out the smart little guy, I thought. Instead, it's
been only
us few weirdos who use this simple, very powerful tool.

And in terms of the Web in general, I've heard that the best place to
hide
a good project is on the Net.

Yet...yet...I saw a newstory yesterday that says 30% of Americans are
daily
users of the Net and part of the "computer elite" or some such term.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies...
...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller
about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up!
...original downloadable music ... and articles galore!
plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!




  #3  
Old November 27th 03, 02:49 AM
GR
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

I agree that most web users don't even know about Usenet groups. I go back
to the BBS days and used their forums for the same great question/answer
sessions that the good groups have. Then the BBS's went away and I didn't
know about Usenet (or my ISP didn't have it??). Then I found newsgroups
again and can fulfil my info addiction.
gr
"Jeff Potter" wrote in message
.. .
My ISP is a HUGE local ISP and oddly they say that I'm almost the only
user of their newsreader service (which they buy from Slurp.net).
I find it very odd that Usenet is used so little by the public.
Offhand it seems like one of the best info resources of the modern era.
Are people really THAT community-phobic or something?

I mean, out of the thousands of Englishspeaking XC buffs we get, what,
a couple dozen crazy regulars who post to RSN. And here we get such
great
answers to questions, good coaching tips, timely race info,
GREAT mpegs of races that no one else in the US will get to see.

So why is RSN used so little?

I remember how excited I got in about, what, 1993 when Usenet took off.
I thought it would be a worldchanging info resource. No more could the
big
stupid media keep out the smart little guy, I thought. Instead, it's
been only
us few weirdos who use this simple, very powerful tool.

And in terms of the Web in general, I've heard that the best place to
hide
a good project is on the Net.

Yet...yet...I saw a newstory yesterday that says 30% of Americans are
daily
users of the Net and part of the "computer elite" or some such term.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies...
...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller
about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up!
...original downloadable music ... and articles galore!
plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!




  #4  
Old November 27th 03, 04:24 AM
J999w
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

Are there any Yahoo groups related to XC skiing?

Never looked myself, but there are lots out there for other subjects.

jw
milwaukee
(been watching the Fairbanks web cam ... -15F !)
  #5  
Old November 27th 03, 03:02 PM
sknyski
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

Maybe because you could fit nearly all of the serious,
English-speaking, computer-saavy, nordic skiers in the world into a
small auditorium? Or maybe the gatorade aisle at Safeway?

bt
  #6  
Old November 27th 03, 05:38 PM
Douglas Diehl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

Probably because nordic skiers don't want to be bored with reading about
other peoples training accomplishments. e.g. blah, blah, blahs dailt
workout.
"Jeff Potter" wrote in message
.. .
My ISP is a HUGE local ISP and oddly they say that I'm almost the only
user of their newsreader service (which they buy from Slurp.net).
I find it very odd that Usenet is used so little by the public.
Offhand it seems like one of the best info resources of the modern era.
Are people really THAT community-phobic or something?

I mean, out of the thousands of Englishspeaking XC buffs we get, what,
a couple dozen crazy regulars who post to RSN. And here we get such
great
answers to questions, good coaching tips, timely race info,
GREAT mpegs of races that no one else in the US will get to see.

So why is RSN used so little?

I remember how excited I got in about, what, 1993 when Usenet took off.
I thought it would be a worldchanging info resource. No more could the
big
stupid media keep out the smart little guy, I thought. Instead, it's
been only
us few weirdos who use this simple, very powerful tool.

And in terms of the Web in general, I've heard that the best place to
hide
a good project is on the Net.

Yet...yet...I saw a newstory yesterday that says 30% of Americans are
daily
users of the Net and part of the "computer elite" or some such term.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies...
...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller
about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up!
...original downloadable music ... and articles galore!
plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!




  #7  
Old November 27th 03, 07:50 PM
GR
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?


"sknyski" wrote in message
...
Maybe because you could fit nearly all of the serious,
English-speaking, computer-saavy, nordic skiers in the world into a
small auditorium? Or maybe the gatorade aisle at Safeway?

bt

NOW..... that's funny!!! you mean that all xc skiers aren't techno
philes???

gr


  #8  
Old November 27th 03, 07:51 PM
Philip Nelson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 18:06:51 -0500, Jeff Potter wrote:

My ISP is a HUGE local ISP and oddly they say that I'm almost the only
user of their newsreader service (which they buy from Slurp.net). I find
it very odd that Usenet is used so little by the public. Offhand it
seems like one of the best info resources of the modern era. Are people
really THAT community-phobic or something?


I think the reasons are mostly technical. Newsreader software is the stuff
of geeks. Many isps are inconsistent in news server setup or don't offer
it at all. The client tools look like email and they already have email.

I think blogs will surpass news as the interest groups are self organizing
rather than organized by obscure committee and the user involvment
requires more natural web site skills. That's why I'm proposing to our
WINN board, that the blogs.xcskiwinn.org site be made available to all
WINN members and always for free to coaches at our dec. 7th annual
meeting. If it generates membership, great. We'll just spend that on xc
organizations, events and other activities.
  #9  
Old November 28th 03, 09:28 AM
Anders Lustig
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

"Douglas Diehl" wrote in message ...

Probably because nordic skiers don't want to be bored with reading about
other peoples training accomplishments. e.g. blah, blah, blahs dailt
workout.


You know, the wonderful thing about newsgroups is that
one doesn´t even have to begin to read any threads or
posts that one assumes or fears to be boring:-)

If there is a large number of skiers out there who use
any of the various boards, forums, Yahoo (or other)
groups or mailing lists, they must have some other
reason for doing so.

I have no idea about their relative popularity - and
how many of them actually prefer their medium to r.s.n.,
how many of them are unaware of Usenet, and how many of
them are unaware that they could use Google to access
it are all questions I cannot answer.



Anders
  #10  
Old November 28th 03, 11:46 AM
Ken Roberts
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why don't more skiers use RSN?

Yes, this newsgroup is a good resource. And I think there are ways to help
more skiers to benefit from it. And ways to make it a better resource.

I've started a discussion group for working on making rec.skiing.nordic
better for more skiers (? or maybe creating something else better for more):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rsnfuture

You can join and participate in this new RSNfuture group by email or by web
interface. It's operated by Yahoo!Groups, so you join for free, but they
add some advertising on the messages. If you post something to the group,
your message and your email address are visible only to other group members,
not the whole internet.

I'm starting this RSNfuture group because I think discussion on
rec.skiing.nordic should be mostly about "skiing", not about "discussion".
So now there's another place for "discussion about better discussion".

Please join if you want to help make public discussion of XC skiing better
and reach more skiers.

Ken


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How many skiers can you fit in a mini? Jack Guest` European Ski Resorts 3 February 14th 04 10:10 AM
First time skiers - where and how? Nancy K European Ski Resorts 12 January 7th 04 11:36 AM
Team NSR rocks! Kensington rules! and Tech Report Jeff Potter Nordic Skiing 5 October 9th 03 04:27 AM
LT Training for Lance, Why Not Nordic Skiers? Ken Roberts Nordic Skiing 4 August 18th 03 04:41 PM
Guaranteed Skiing Improvement for Eastern and Western Skiers Jay Tegeder Nordic Skiing 7 August 7th 03 03:02 PM


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SkiBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.