Kingdom wrote:
Is there an FAQ for the group?
Does it ever get posted here?
Not that I'm aware of.
I understand their is a high resistance to binary posts in this group, although binary posts are acceptable to the server.
What server? Usenet is composed of thousands of separate servers operated by just as many different owners. They all have varying policies regarding binaries in non-binary groups.
Considering that in many cases simply publishing an image could help explain/show a problem/example.
That is true; however it should be posted somewhere else.
Is their any valid reason for not wanting images posted to this group?
Yes, there are several. First of all, remember that this is a worldwide forum and internet access varies greatly based on the particular region. Many, many users worldwide still pay for their time by the minute -- and we're not talking only third-world countries, either. Therefore, they download the entire contents of the group and read offline to save money. Binaries in a text group cost them a lot of time and money.
Also, many news servers have separate charges for binary and non-binary subscriptions. For example, my account on Supernews allows text-only groups. Binary memberships cost more because the users take up more bandwidth and storage space. If they detect many binaries posted in a group they may discontinue access by text-only users.
Third, many servers simply omit the binary attachments from text groups so only a small part of the audience could see them. If you post your example somewhere that is suitable for binaries, more people will actually see it.
A text-only group allows news servers (particularly smaller ones) to retain many, many more articles before they scroll off the group. A single Photoshop image might scroll hundreds of text messages off the server. Some poorer servers can't retain data for very long. Some servers only allow text groups and if a group receives many binary posts they simply drop the group.
Now that Broadband is most definatly here download time realy isn't an issue. Neither is filling the server if it were 'restricted' to images only, no applications or utilities etc.
Again, remember that this forum is worldwide. Broadband is a luxury enjoyed by relatively few people if you consider it on a worldwide basis. Sometimes we forget that this group includes users from places other than wealthy, technology-rich countries. As for an "images only" policy -- I routinely work with Photoshop images which are larger than many applications.
Currently the group Alt.binaries.pictures.utilities is a group specificaly for any and all things related to pictures including pictures so anyone wishing to post images or anything else should post to that group and let everyone here know the subject line of their post.
You are exactly right and that is how it is meant to be. If the group includes "binaries" in its name, then binaries are encouraged there. In fact, some binaries groups *discourage* text posts and have separate discussion groups associated with them.
Just some of my thoughts that you may care to comment on.
By asking the questions, you allow the opportunity for many people to understand why they get flamed for posting binaries. Obviously, not everyone understands these things. I hope this helps.
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Tom
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