Path: utzoo!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!umich!ox.com!ox.com!emv
From: emv@ox.com (Ed Vielmetti)
Newsgroups: alt.sources.d
Subject: Re: A readable, robust encoding for source postings
Message-ID: <EMV.90Dec31194529@crane.aa.ox.com>
Date: 1 Jan 91 00:45:29 GMT
References: <1990Dec29.114801.5895@Daisy.EE.UND.AC.ZA>
	<1990Dec30.170302.21665@druid.uucp> <6540@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au>
	<1990Dec31.232624.23510@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>
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Organization: OTA Limited Partnership, Ann Arbor MI.
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In-Reply-To: xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG's message of 31 Dec 90 23:26:24 GMT

In article <1990Dec31.232624.23510@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:

   The major requirement for this method is that there needs to be a very
   explicit clear text explanation of the purpose and contents of the
   archive to let the reader make a decision whether it is worth unpacking.

The text explanation should be in a separate article from the globs of
binary encoded stuff.  It should probably be cross-posted to a
relevant group, so that people who don't read the binary-encoded
sources group can be informed in a timely fashion of new stuff.  In
addition it should have a very clear and precise description of where
a reasonably fresh version can be FTP'd from, if the code is available
in that way; that will facilitate reposting (just) the announcement
into comp.archives.  

For that matter, a separate "this is what it is and where you can get
it" would be useful for any set of postings to alt.sources, sort of a
"part 0 of 15" which would be sent around more widely than the other
half a megabyte blortful.

--Ed
emv@ox.com