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From: gary@sci34hub.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.config
Subject: Re: Disaster Planning
Summary: If you have efficient communications, use it!
Keywords: doom naysayers death destruction
Message-ID: <406@sci34hub.UUCP>
Date: 14 Nov 89 01:40:22 GMT
References: <103@farcomp.UUCP> <1371@wheaton.UUCP>
Distribution: news
Lines: 24

In article <1371@wheaton.UUCP>, djaggard@wheaton.UUCP (Deborah Jaggard) writes:
> 
> The Postmaster General's suggestion for the shut-down of USENET lines
> during natural disasters which would be considered "emergencies," is an
> excellent idea.  It would provide more local power to the area in order
> that people can call relatives, and important news can be passed on.

No, it's a LOUSEY idea. E-mail is a very efficient means of moving a 
lot of information in a small amount of time. A far more rational 
plan would be to organize news or sys admins who could queue up a
batch of inquiries, send them off to a disaster-area site via a 
backbone site (to prevent congestion by systems trying to call in,
and also probably go thru leased lines or satellite links, not
the phone co.) and let someone in the area contact people. Then,
a batch of mail can be built up, sent back out to the areas needed,
and the net/sys admin can them call and report the contact. I'd 
have no problem doing that; I'd have LOTS of problems with cutting
off the fastest, most efficient, and least loaded communications
system when it can do the most good.

-- 
    Gary Heston     { uunet!sci34hub!gary  }    System Mismanager
   SCI Technology, Inc.  OEM Products Department  (i.e., computers)
      Hestons' First Law: I qualify virtually everything I say.