Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!ames!pacbell!pbhya!whh
From: whh@PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: READ.ME: A modest proposal
Message-ID: <30359@pbhya.PacBell.COM>
Date: 13 Oct 89 17:00:34 GMT
Organization: Pacific * Bell, Oakland, CA
Lines: 25

The inclusion of READ.ME files--while useful--is a holdover from the
days of most machines having only 1 or 2 diskette drives.  While the
file still serves a useful purpose for general recipients, the common
name (and it's common variants) create a name collision problem on
a lot of machines thses days.

I would like to propose that the READ.ME file, as it is now used
be called "name.RME" and that if a file is desired called "READ.ME",
that it contain only directions to read the ".RME" file.  In this way
each software package can have initial data in an easily found and
consistent place, and all such files can be retained with minimal risk
of name collisions.

Further, if he is amenable, I think it would be good if our illustriuous
moderator could be persuaded to implement this as a general policy on
comp.binaries.ibm.pc.  He could write a suitable (and short) READ.ME 
file pointing novice users to the .RME file.

    --Hal

=========================================================================
  Hal Heydt                             | In the old days, we had wooden
  Analyst, Pacific*Bell                 | ships sailed by iron men.  Now
  415-823-5447                          | we have steel ships and block-
  whh@pbhya.PacBell.COM                 | heads running them. --Capt. D. Seymour