From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 1/30/2026 8:16 PM, legg wrote:   
   > On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 19:09:20 -0700, Don Y   
   >  wrote:   
   >   
   >    
   >>   
   >>> It's the sort of thing only a few are willing even to discuss.   
   >>> So: there were obvious restrictions to even opening an account -   
   >>> employability and limitations on likely clients for those who   
   >>> did participate.   
   >>>   
   >>> This is true of most 'public' participation, in some fields and   
   >>> and some 'private' participation in all of them. Just the way   
   >>> things are.   
   >>   
   >> So, beyond the folks you *know*, the value of such disclosure is   
   >> sharing with other "unknowns".   
   >   
   > Discussing the value of group membership or participation in LinkIn   
   > 20+ years ago is irrelevant today.   
      
   The same issues apply to any such "exchange".   
      
   > Usenet groups has also changed over the years.   
      
   Yes.  In the 90's, there was much technical discussion on USENET.   
   It has long since taken on the role of a "watering hole" (pub).   
      
   > Discussing the shortcomings of either the FaceBook or LinkedIn   
   > organization, coded functions or performance on those sites is a   
   > quick way of being 'dismembered' from a specific group, without   
   > notice or justification, by robotic admins.   
      
   One of the downsides of "moderation".  Perhaps a reason USENET survives   
   despite the dearth of content?   
      
   This circles back to my comment of maintaining your own, *personal* set   
   of contacts without reliance on a "third party" institution.  The limiting   
   factor, there, is how long people maintain an interest in the technology   
   (many retired friends are still actively engaged in discussion, though no   
   longer "practitioners".  Others have not remained "current" and fade away   
   realizing they no longer understand the issues to be able to contribute.   
   And, still others are pushing up daisies.     
      
   [One unexpected consequence of electronic relationships (vs. "in person")   
   is these "news" events seem to come out of the blue; you never really   
   realize how old, sick, etc. someone you're conversing with -- until the line   
   goes dead (or a spouse sends a message to that effect).]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)