My Experience with Newsgroups:
The things I discover, whether it was good or bad.
Table of Content
My initial reaction on Newsgroups
I was overwhelmed with facts and subjects when I first observed the Newsgroups. There are so many entries of people from different places of the world voicing their opinions on a topic. For example, searching "road rage" would have a list of twenty individuals or more in a period of three weeks talking about anything, that would involve road rage. Searching subjects that involve driving was quite easy, which made the assignment easier for me. The only difficult part about this assignment was that I was required to view Newsgroups on a regular basis (at least 20 minutes a day) for three weeks in order to keep up with what is being discuss.
I think Newsgroups have a lot to
offer. It offers many different opinions of people on a topic, poems, and
information that may have some value to an individual. I view Newsgroups as a
newspaper, where each member of a family can find their interest in the
different sections of the paper.
Posting 1: Defining an Aggressive Driver
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Aggressive driving usually means driving without due consideration of other Users on the road. According to this definition, the following actions qualify for Aggressive driving: failure to use a turn signal, failure to turn on headlights at the appropriate times (rain, dark, etc.), talking on the phone while driving, smoking while driving, fussing with the kids in the front/back seat while your vehicle is moving, driving much slower than the prevailing traffic speed, forming a 'rolling roadblock' by driving on a multi-lane road at exactly the speed of the car next to you (assuming non-congested roadways here), etc... In other words, any driver action likely to cause an accident or inconvenience other drivers is "aggressive" by this definition.
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My Reaction
In this posting, Mr. Adam is voicing
his opinion in respond to a question asked by Mr. Henry, which is "Is it
possible for someone to drive "aggressively" if they are the only person on
the road?" I think that Mr. Adam did not directly answer the question and
goes on a tangent where he brings up some interesting facts about driving. I
agree with his comment about other actions done on the road are just as
dangerous as the other driverās behavior that could be considered aggressive.
In response to the question, I personally feel that it is still possible to
drive aggressively although you might be the only one on the road at that
particular time. In my opinion, being an aggressive driver does not only
relate to how others are affected but also you, as a driver. If you put
yourself in danger, then that is aggressive.
Posting 2: A Poem On Driving
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Subject: LIKE A BABY (mp3)
LIKE A BABY And we were driving through the forest in the dark and we were driving through the city in the lights and we were driving through the night beneath the stars and you were sleeping like a baby beside me you were beautiful like angel in red dress moon was shining above us with the silver stardust whitelanes were whirling in my eyes i had driven all night I turned to see a memory you were gone
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My Reaction
From my observation of the Newsgroups, there are many negative comments posted especially when it involves driving. However, I found a few that was positive and interesting and this is one of them. Reading poems is one of the things I like to do. The interesting aspect about poems is that there can be many interpretations on a poem depending on each individual. There is not a just one interpretation. Also, it requires itsā reader to read the poem a couple of times and each time you do you discover new things about the poem. Therefore, you could never get bored reading the same poem repeatedly.
My own interpretation of this poem is, the speaker of the poem is trying to recall a time where he/she lost someone. According to the poem, the speaker feels he/she is sharing an experience with a little girl. This little girl could be his/her own child, however, as readers we cannot say for sure. The speaker and the little girl share a beautiful drive around the country to the city. However, it is only the speaker that feels this beautiful experience because the child is asleep. In light of this occurrence, we (reader) could see that this beautiful drive turns out deadly. The driver got so tired that his concentration on the road is broken with all the driving.
Eventually, they got into an accident. We
could say that the little girl dies instantly and went in heaven. Overall,
the poem is trying to convey the idea that each of us have memories to reflect
back on, however, it can also be gone. In other words, the richness of our
memories can fade away as time passes by.
Posting 3: A Fact On Vehicles
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Subject: Re: Plane Crash And something else to note is for every car that is made safer each year they put out a bigger heavier more dangerous SUV that will out sell that safe car and will in fact make the roads more dangerous overall; to the SUV drivers and the newly designed "safe car" drivers (and passengers). Ford is a good example they have decided to add to their SUV's a airbag that inflates when a roll over is impending. Well doesn't that seem like masking a problem? After all SUV's have a greater tendency to roll over than say a Camry ( safe car), and instead of trying to remanufacture them so the CG is lower (easily done, but costly recalibration of assembly line and different suspension and chassis design) they come up with this less expensive safety device. Which if on a highway one of these things rolls over, because of a sharp lane change or a 5 lane dive for the exit, this massive thing will become a rolling snowball destroying anything in its path. Well perhaps the passengers of the SUV are better off for the rollover bags, but the Miata they rolled over.... Car manufactures want you to think their car
is safe, fun, fuel efficient, |
My Reaction
After looking through the different
Newsgroups, I found that there are some good things it can offer to their
viewers. Newsgroup does not only have peopled gossiping (which I thought at
first) but raises some issues that we may not be aware. Take this posting for
example, I didnāt know that, ćfor every car that is made safer each year they
put out a bigger heavier more dangerous SUV that will out sell that safe car
and will in fact make the roads more dangerous overall.ä It is sad that
people could try anything to make money even it means endangering the lives of
others. I feel there should be a stiffer punishment against car dealers that
does not pass the grade for a test, if there is one that already exists. If
there is not a law, then out legislators should implement one.
Posting 4: Tailgating
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Subject: Re: Ok, another
Q4U (tailgating) Here's the Q:
I would personally prefer to drive with no one immediately beside me, but the guy behind me bothers me a hell of a lot more. Should something happen ahead of us and traffic slow dramatically, the guy beside me can brake quickly or slowly, I don't care. The guy behind me is limiting my options though. If I need to brake hard, I need to limit my braking so that he doesn't run me over, which could conceivably leave me with not enough room to avoid a front impact without incurring a rear impact. If he doesn't brake hard enough or brakes too late, I have no options.
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My Reaction
This is another posting that I found interesting. I think that Brandon gives a very rational reason to his idea in this posting. He makes a good point about the vehicle behind will be limiting his options to brake in case of an emergency. I too would prefer to be bothered more with the driver behind me than to the driver next to me. Because I would be more aware of the driver besides me by looking at the corner of my eyes while driving, whereas I would not be towards the driver behind me.
By this argument, I can
recall my father telling me to be more attentive towards the vehicles in front
and on the side than the guy behind. He feels that if the person behind
should ever bang me for following to close, then it is their fault because the
driver should be paying more attention to his driving. I think my father
makes a good point, however, there are many drivers out there that tailgate
and they pose a problem for others. I feel we should also try to be aware of
all drivers whether they are behind, in front, or in the side of us.
Posting 5: Speeding ticket
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Subject: Re: Help got a
speeding ticket! (Michigan) PS. Notice I made no reference to radar detectors - these days they offer too little defense, anyway - and worse can provide you with a false sense of security. You're much further head just using your eyes and your gut-instincts instead.
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My Reaction
This posting is an example of what you would encounter when viewing Newsgroups based on my own observation. As you can see on this posting, some people are not polite to one when responding back. According to the tune of this posting, it seems to me that Paul is irritated by Mike and is not supportive towards him. I think that Paul makes a good point about radar detectors. He advised that instead of using them, drivers should much rather use their eyes and gut-instincts when trying to commit an offense on the road. As side note, Mike is trying to contest the court for getting a speeding ticket while driving 92 mph without traffic. I too think he should just pay the fine because he is definitely wrong to be cruising at such a speed even though there is no traffic: A speed regulation is intended for a purpose and anyone that breaks it should pay the consequence. In addition, I would not try to put down someone strongly in order to get my point across.
Posting 6: Pizza Delivery
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Subject: Strange
happenings, and gas theives.......unreal.
Needless to say, we all stoped and helped each other out. I made sure that the guy that initially hit the deer was ok, and walked over to the other car to make sure THEY were ok. Everyone was fine, except for the deer that is. Someone called in the accident almost immediatly, because the police were there in like 4 minutes. As he was getting the report from the second driver, the first driver,who hit the deer first, came over to me and said.....and I quote......." Is that my pizza you were delivering?" I gave him the address and sure enough, it was his. He then looked at me, almost crying and said...." I was trying to beat you to my house so I would be there when you got there." Too screwed up........ |
My Reaction
I found this posting to be
entertainment and had an important message to say. It is saying that rushing
on the road causes problems. Because an individual is driving recklessly, the
person tend to make more dangerous maneuvers on the road and likely to cause
accident. Luckily, it was a deer that got hit and not a human being in the
story.
Posting 7: Idiot driver or not?
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Subject: Re: "Idiot Driver
of the Week" nomination heh, might as well dob myself in... My best effort... was late for clerical testing for a job i was applying for. I managed to make it from Swanbourne to Central Tafe in a little over 10 mins. The problem... i was driving along Mounts bay road to the first set of lights after the round-a-bout and the narrows. I saw the red light One of the scariest things is having a swan taxi scream to a halt a mere 5-10cm from your drivers door as you pass them doing 80km/h.. Believe me my driving has improved drastically since then, but yeah just like a moments lack of concetration or lack of reaction can cause alot of near misses..
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My Reaction
This posting is similar to the one
previously. The driver is in a rush to get the a job he is applying for and
doing so breaks many rules. He could have put himself in danger and as well
as others. Because of his actions I consider him an idiot driver that needs
to be re-educate about the rules on the highway. He is fortunate that nothing
bad happened compared to the posting that involved a deer that was hit on the
road. I hope that he have learned from this incident and has not try to
repeat it a second time.
Posting 8: Crossing a street
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Subject: Re: Adopt A
Highway plug for John! We learned while in Germany to count to 5, and look both ways, before going through a stop sign, or after a red light has turned green. That practice saved my life one morning. I was at a stop light and it turned green, I did my normal thing of looking both ways while counting to 5, and before I got to 2 here came this car blasting through the red light. That person had to be doing at least 80 mph. They were moving so fast, that I did not have time to see whether it was a male or female driving the car. I never forget to do that looking and counting before going through a intersection! Best,
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My Reaction
Another positive contributes of a Newsgroup. When I was young, my
family and I lived in a neighborhood that was surrounded by many small stores.
One of them was just across the street of my house. As a child hungry for
snacks, I enjoyed going to these stores. Therefore, my father had taught me at
a young age that I should never cross a street without looking both ways and
make sure that is alright to cross: Always check left and right for a couple
of times before you do cross the street because you may never know when a
vehicle may be present and hits you.
Posting 9: Banning Cell Phones
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Subject: Re: Banning CELL phones in cars The 1997 study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded that talking on a cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of an accident. Researchers said losing concentration, not fiddling with the phone itself, creates the hazard, so talking on a hands-free model is just as risky. Presumably if the legislation goes through, a ban on talking to passengers can't be far behind. It's hard to see how talking to a passenger can be any less distracting than talking on a hands-free 'phone. Being something of a trained student of human nature (professionally) and victim of a cellphone using driver just two week ago you might think I have an opinion on this matter.......and you'd be right of course. Talking to someone in the car with you is miles and miles away from talking with someone on the phone. In-person conversations while driving ebb and flow with the need to control and direct the car and compensate for changes in traffic. Being on the phone puts one in the position of being responsible for the flow of the conversation more than the flow of the traffic. The guy that hit me was crossing a thoroughfare from a side street, gabbing away on his cell and it was dusk. I was also crossing but going in the opposite direction. He was gabbing away, did not signal, and simply turned left right into me..such a surprised look he had on impact, and he wasn't even jostled though I certainly was. I had no time to evade, honk, stop, go, do anything as he was only five or six feet from me when he spun the wheel without looking. Had he been with a passenger talking he
would have seen me, used his free left hand to put on his turn signal
(giving me at least some chance) and probably my wife's beloved old volvo
wagon that she hauled the kiddies around in for all those years wouldn't
have been totaled and I wouldn't have an aching sore shoulder. What if
this had all happened at a much higher speed? I've had two people since
pull lefts in front of me while talking on the phone, as though I wasn't
even there. In our state you YIELD to oncoming Sorry, phones in cars don't work, never will. People are not adequately trained in their use. They do not know to stop talking when road attention is needed and they aren't going to learn unless they are pilots or police.
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My Reaction
I think that with all the technology we have today, we have allow ourselves some problems that need solutions. One such device is the easy access to a cellphone. It seems now days that everyone has one expect myself. People who do have one have their ears constantly on the receiver of a cell. I wonder, with all the conversation being done on phones what more can people talk about when they actually meet with one another. I have noticed that increasingly more people are talking on the cell phones while driving and I find it irritating, because most of them are not concentrating on the road when they should be. I, myself get a distracted while changing the radio station and when someone is talking to me, therefore, I would definitely lose my concentration on the road if I was talking on a cell. Overall, I support a ban on cell phones while driving.
Posting 10:Traffic flow
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Subject: Re: Phone number
for traffic cop? I am driving to work and there is a mini van parked on a no-waiting zone on Ellice, reducing the rush hour traffic from 2 lanes to 1. The driver of the mini-van paid taxes to conveniently use the public thourougfare, so did you. But, look at the original message above, Stan. It was a NO-WAITING ZONE. Paying your taxes doesn't give you the right to bugger up the flow of traffic for the other taxpayers. What part of NO-WAITING ZONE didn't you understand?
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My Reaction
I have experienced this myself, sometimes, especially when I am coming
to school. A vehicle may not be parking there for a long time but is making a
delivery, which shouldnāt take that long. I try not to get all worked up about
it. However, I find it difficult not to get mad because I am trying to get to
school and there is traffic everywhere. By parking at a no-waiting zone or at
a curb of a street, the vehicle just adds to the congestion of the traffic. I
have observed that although there is a sign informing drivers not to park here
or there, I know that many drivers would discard the sign. I think a reason
why these people do it is for their convenience to themselves, which is not
right. Each of us in this country does not have the right to do everything
that we want. We have to abide the law. As citizens of this country who are
paying taxes does not give you the right to break the law. Therefore, I agree
with Mr. Leacockās.
In
conclusion
I have enjoyed participating in
Newsgroups and will continue to do so. Overall, I feel Newsgroups have many
to offer as you have encountered in this report. The positive sides out
weight the negative ones and depending on how each one of us view Newsgroup I
think that it can be a resource to look at. I do not think the informations
we get out of it are definite reliable resources. However, this information
could be use as a way to formulate ideas. In other words, it could initiate
our mind to think of ideas and help us better understand by being more
open-minded.
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