How can I correct an error in an old post?

[barakad]

Hi.
I was searching for some information regarding a problem and found an
interesting post that includes an answer to the problem; thought the
post is very helpful it is based on a wrong assumption and thus the
solution it suggests is incorrect. It took me some time to understand
that the suggested solution is wrong and to find the correct solution
and I wish to add my findings to the post, to prevent others from
taking the wrong path.
When I tried to replay to the post I received a reject message stating
that it is impossible to replay to the topic since it is old and was
closed by a manager.
The question is how can I add this correction?
Thanks.

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

Hi.
I was searching for some information regarding a problem and found an
interesting post that includes an answer to the problem; thought the
post is very helpful it is based on a wrong assumption and thus the
solution it suggests is incorrect. It took me some time to understand
that the suggested solution is wrong and to find the correct solution
and I wish to add my findings to the post, to prevent others from
taking the wrong path.
When I tried to replay to the post I received a reject message stating
that it is impossible to replay to the topic since it is old and was
closed by a manager.
The question is how can I add this correction?
Thanks.

Start a new thread and include the old post with your
corrections.

Yes, this means the erroneous post is still out there, and
does not link directly to yours, but that's the fault of people
who "close" threads, for they are among the stupidest
people on the net.

But if, as you did, someone else searches for the information,
the old post will come up in the search results, and yours will
too, because it contains the old post. So anyone who bothers
to look at both will figure out what happened.

--Blair

 

[Jorgen Grahn]

and I wish to add my findings to the post, to prevent others from
taking the wrong path.

When I tried to replay to the post I received a reject message stating
that it is impossible to replay to the topic since it is old and was
closed by a manager.

That's through the Google Groups Usenet interface, right? Because on Usenet,
that's misleading at best -- we have no managers, and noone can "close a
topic". (It's alright for them to add this extra limitation, of course.)

The question is how can I add this correction?

In Usenet terms, make a posting with a References: header which mentions the
Message-ID of the bad posting (just like this posting references yours, if
you look closely at the headers). That's easier if the posting hasn't
already expired on your server, but by no means impossible if it has.

/Jorgen

 

[Steve Holden]

That's through the Google Groups Usenet interface, right? Because on Usenet,
that's misleading at best -- we have no managers, and noone can "close a
topic". (It's alright for them to add this extra limitation, of course.)




In Usenet terms, make a posting with a References: header which mentions the
Message-ID of the bad posting (just like this posting references yours, if
you look closely at the headers). That's easier if the posting hasn't
already expired on your server, but by no means impossible if it has.

/Jorgen

Since this message was never on topic, I'd appreciate it if all
concerned would close this thread now.

regards
Steve

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

Since this message was never on topic, I'd appreciate it if all
concerned would close this thread now.

I already did. How did you get in here?

--Blair

 

[Steve Holden]

I already did. How did you get in here?

 

[Jorgen Grahn]

Since this message was never on topic,

I disagree; it was a technical question on how to handle a discussion in
this newsgroup, and IMHO that is always on topic -- to a certain point.

I'd appreciate it if all
concerned would close this thread now.

I think you are overreacting. This was a thread with three (3) postings, in
a high-volume newsgroup, with no indication that it would continue (except
maybe with a pointer to whatever posting the OP wanted to correct, or to his
correction).

/Jorgen

 

[Steve Holden]

I disagree; it was a technical question on how to handle a discussion in
this newsgroup, and IMHO that is always on topic -- to a certain point.




I think you are overreacting. This was a thread with three (3) postings, in
a high-volume newsgroup, with no indication that it would continue (except
maybe with a pointer to whatever posting the OP wanted to correct, or to his
correction).

I probably was. I also missed the (in retrospect, fairly clear)
implication that it was an old *c.l.py* post that was being discussed.

regards
Steve

 

[Tim Roberts]

I think you are overreacting. This was a thread with three (3) postings, in
a high-volume newsgroup, with no indication that it would continue (except
maybe with a pointer to whatever posting the OP wanted to correct, or to his
correction).

I'm confused. I assumed Steve was just joking with his original request.
Although it might be mirrored on a web site somewhere, this is a Usenet
newsgroup. It is impossible to "close" a thread. The concept simply does
not exist.

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

Although it might be mirrored on a web site somewhere, this is a Usenet
newsgroup. It is impossible to "close" a thread. The concept simply does
not exist.

Google, the new de facto website of record for Usenet, disagrees.

But they do about 10 things totally wrong with Google groups that
I'd've fixed in my spare time in my first week if they'd hired me back
when I was interviewing with them.

So if they want it to work, they know where to find me.

--Blair

P.S. Did I mention? Google's distributed systems are managed with
Python scripts.

 

[Aahz]

But they do about 10 things totally wrong with Google groups that
I'd've fixed in my spare time in my first week if they'd hired me back
when I was interviewing with them.

Only ten?

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

Only ten?

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Their security must have /some/ sort of procedure for extracting
people repairing flaws...

I figure 7-10 days max.

--Blair

 

[Bryan Olson]

But they do about 10 things totally wrong with Google groups that
I'd've fixed in my spare time in my first week if they'd hired me back
when I was interviewing with them.

So if they want it to work, they know where to find me.

Doesn't seem likely, does it? But don't let it stop you. You don't
need Google's permission to build a better Usenet service. They
don't have any copyright on the posts, or other special protection.
I'm a former Googler myself and I use their service all the time,
but if yours is better I'll switch.

 

[Aahz]

Doesn't seem likely, does it? But don't let it stop you. You don't
need Google's permission to build a better Usenet service. They
don't have any copyright on the posts, or other special protection.
I'm a former Googler myself and I use their service all the time,
but if yours is better I'll switch.

The problem is the network effect. In this case, what Google has that
can't be replicated is the history of posts.

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

The problem is the network effect. In this case, what Google has that
can't be replicated is the history of posts.

Exactly.

Usenet isn't just the "send this message to all leaf nodes via tree"
behavior,
it's the "show me the message from 1987 or 1988 written by dickie
sexton where
he invents the '(*plonk*)' meme" behavior, and a lot of others.

It would be an interesting script that would crawl through Google's
online
copy of the DejaNews archive (which itself was incomplete, by the way)
to replicate all of that, with complete headers, minus Google's header
munging.

--Blair

 

[Fredrik Lundh]

"show me the message from 1987 or 1988 written by dickie
sexton where he invents the '(*plonk*)' meme" behavior,

these days, you use wikipedia for things like that.

</F>

 

[Bryan Olson]

The problem is the network effect. In this case, what Google has that
can't be replicated is the history of posts.

There's no magic there. Get them the same way Google and
Dejanews got them, plus you might scrape Google, from some
locality with favorable laws.

 

[Bryan Olson]

Usenet isn't just the "send this message to all leaf nodes via tree"
behavior,
it's the "show me the message from 1987 or 1988 written by dickie
sexton where
he invents the '(*plonk*)' meme" behavior, and a lot of others.

That makes Google the only non-broken Usenet service,
the opposite of what the retitling of this thread claims.

 

[Paul Boddie]

Although it might be mirrored on a web site somewhere, this is a Usenet
newsgroup. It is impossible to "close" a thread. The concept simply does
not exist.

Apparently, the fashionable approach to "closing a thread" is to post a
critique of thread contributors to one's blog and then finish off with
the words, "Please stop."

http://bright-green.com/blog/2006_10_05/python_tracker_fud.html

Paul

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

That makes Google the only non-broken Usenet service,
the opposite of what the retitling of this thread claims.

It takes more than /one/ non-broken behavior to make
a non-broken system.

--Blair