Sumo netiquette/flame wars

[Alan Portillo <APORTILL@smtp.cnap.navy.mil>]

Hello to all!
I have been an avid sumo fan since I was stationed at Misawa Air Base
in Aomori-ken from 1988-1991.  After our local cable system dropped
KSCI Channel 18 over a year ago, I was going into serious sumo
withdrawal until I discovered this group last January.  Since then I have
thoroughly enjoyed all of your postings, especially the in-depth
descriptions of the day's results during each basho.  I have also enjoyed
the lack of flaming by the participants; in fact, I have been very
impressed by the friendly spirit of this group (as opposed to other
newsgroups, especially those of a political nature).  That is why I finally
chose to comment on the recent messages concerning the virus alert. 
I'm not going to comment on any one individual's remarks, but instead
propose a solution.
     During a basho, the volume of messages goes up exponentially.  It
takes a while to read all of the messages, and I'm really not that inclined
to read anything other than purely sumo-related messages. After the
basho, the volume goes back down.  It takes less time to read the
messages, so I don't mind seeing messages which are off-topic.  How
about if we establish a ground rule that during the basho, we only post
sumo-related items.  After the basho, off-topic items would be welcome. 
Even with a few off-topic items, the volume still wouldn't go up to that
which we see during a basho.  A little discretion on everyone's part
would prevent any problems.
     I'm looking forward to reading any comments on my proposal.  Again, I
thoroughly enjoy this group and its participants.

Alan Portillo
San Diego, CA

P.S.  I'm the proud new owner of a Mac Power PC!