response 25 of 86:

Apr 11 14:24 UTC 1996

Okeley dokeley, it's in the motd now.

response 27 of 86:

Apr 11 14:54 UTC 1996

Heh, I *really* like tels..I don't even accept writes because they don't come
at once.. and they get all scrambled in writes...

response 29 of 86:

Apr 11 19:57 UTC 1996

Dave - try `mesg -p w`

I specififed in my .login file so that I only accept tels.
I personally nhate write messages.  They always get scrambled up, and it
is very frustrating to read a message being sent to you from a slow 
typer--especially when I'm trying to do something important, or if i'm
in the middle of an important discussion.  

The only problem with telegrams is the tel-bomb issue.  But
if somebody tries to pull that on me, I simply mesg n, and it is over.

As for the security idea of recorded mesages, I really do not see this
as much of a problem.  If somebody found a way to
get *special access* I doubt they'd waste their
time peeking around at other people's mesages, granted the fact that
they had a life.  (Gee, i really shouldn't talk, because of that
incident with reading party-logs :)
My 2 Dollars (I like dollars, not cents)

response 31 of 86:

Apr 12 00:01 UTC 1996

I am very much against making tel acceptance the default.  I didn't want tel
activated in the first place and still don't like or want it.  I resent being
forced to have the actively turn off something that I don't want to have
anything to do with.

response 33 of 86:

Apr 12 02:06 UTC 1996

 Glenda, please explain how people sending you tels  harms you in any 
way?  This isnt a matter of something forced upon you.  Its just opening 
up as many forms of communication as possible.  This system (grex) is 
nothing unless it encourages interaction.   Would you want damon and 
staci to grow up in a world where they cant choose their mode on interaction?

response 35 of 86:

Apr 12 02:58 UTC 1996

Is this another case where I'll need to implement a script of some sort to
keep my Tel's turned off?

response 37 of 86:

Apr 12 03:22 UTC 1996

   Huh?  What about mail?  Thats the best possible "message" system
there is.
   If I got mail for the help that was needed I could
 a) probably generate a better response,
 b) keep a list of the commonly asked things for fast responses,
 c) be able to deal with the questions as I'm doing other things.

response 39 of 86:

Apr 12 03:55 UTC 1996

  Also, users with gender-specific female names tend to get a lot
more random write requests.  And I think popcorn does keep her
helper flag on at least some of the time.  Not that I think her
use is relevant to the issue at hand.  Sidhe, what do you mean 
about "another case" where you'll need a script?  This or any
write-permissions should only need a single line in your login
script, unless you change your permissions after logging in.

response 41 of 86:

Apr 12 12:03 UTC 1996

   WHy Ugh, becasuse from me experience people start using tels
when they should have used mail.  I've gotten at least half a dozen
requests for things via tel, and I either forgot them or never saw
them because of screen updates.

response 43 of 86:

Apr 12 23:39 UTC 1996

I mesage popcorn using mail.  Any time I have done that I got an answer in
2 minutes or less.  That's as fast as some people with tels.  :)

To clarify.  The idea is to set the default to allow both tels and writes,
isn't it?

response 45 of 86:

Apr 13 00:23 UTC 1996

As mentioned earlier, idiots will remain idiotic, whatever means of
communication they have.  I've done tel conversations, and it's a little bit
of a hassle, but not much.

response 47 of 86:

Apr 13 05:06 UTC 1996

   The difference between write and tel doesn't seem great at first,
but there is a large difference here.

   With write, you most often think a little about the subject at
hand and then issue the write.  Tel allows much more spontaenous
communications, and makes it easy for the originator to say something,
and then ammend the thought with another tel to clairify something.
I have seen cases of 4 - 5 tels adding things onto the original tel
in the attempt to make the original message more clear.

   This is not new.  Many years ago, on a DECsystem-10 someone noted
the differences between the "send tty" (tel) and "mesg" (write)
programs.  I believe the latter was a local variant of the researchers.
There was a study, and though the results wern't black-and-white, the
more interactive version had people sending more, but less substantive
messages than the write-like program.  If someone wants to dig this up,
I'd appreciate it.  The person did this with JCR Licklider as an advisor
probably around 1970(?) or so.  I've lost my paper copy of it.

   The tools we use really do affect the way we communicate here.  I
believe that tels are not a useful tool, when weighed against other
methods, which while slower and likely to a) be less intrusive to the
reciepant, b) encourage the initiator to think more about their reason
for sending the message before they do so.

response 49 of 86:

Apr 13 05:55 UTC 1996

I think STeve should turn his tel permissions off.  While we staff people tend
to get into a mental state where we want people to be brief and to the point,
giving us well organized complaints and queries, I don't think that is what
the average Grexer is yearning for.