Xref: utzoo news.misc:3608 news.groups:12310 news.admin:6966 news.config:1384 news.sysadmin:2643 Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!ginosko!uunet!koosh!omni.com From: bob@omni.com (Bob Weissman) Newsgroups: news.misc,news.groups,news.admin,news.config,news.sysadmin Subject: Re: status comp.sys.sun Summary: Something needs to be done. Keywords: comp sys sun status Message-ID: <894@koosh.omni.com> Date: 18 Sep 89 16:44:11 GMT References: <1555@ndmath.UUCP> Sender: bob@omni.com Followup-To: news.groups Organization: OMNI Solutions, Mountain View, CA Lines: 50 In article <1555@ndmath.UUCP>, fors@ndmath.UUCP (Guy Fors) writes: > This is the third time I've posted a note asking about the currunt > status of comp.sys.sun. Our site is just not getting any messages > for this group. Has everyone lost interest in this group or has > our site simply stopped getting news in this group. This group > was very active until lately when messages came in spurts and > now we get almost nothing. Any information would be appreciated. We've noticed the same problem here. The moderation of this group, a difficult and thankless job at best, has apparently become too much for the moderator. I have no idea whether the "sun-spots" Internet mailing list has died as well, or just the USENET side, "comp.sys.sun". I don't want to throw any stones, but something needs to be done to restore the information flow. Alternatives include: 1. Unmoderate the group. 2. Find a new moderator. 3. Break the group into smaller groups by geography. 4. Break the group into smaller groups by subject. Alternative (1) has the advantage that everyone will get every message quickly. This may also be a disadvantage, given the amount of noise which will doubtless appear. Alternative (2) offers no guarantees that things will get any better. Alternative (3) may be a good solution for people with time-sensitive questions who can't wait for (or afford) Sun support folk. Alternative (4) may be the best solution, at least for the USENET side of things, as people can subscribe to just the subgroups of interest. These might include hardware, software, operating systems, window systems, programming questions, user interface, etc. Rather than attempting to shake everything up all at once, I'd like to see some discussion take place. My suggestion is that we unmoderate the newsgroup and take a wait-and-see attitude to see if further action is necessary. Comments? (Followups are directed to news.groups.) -- Bob Weissman UUCP: ...!{apple,pyramid,sgi,tekbspa,uunet}!koosh!bob Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.