Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!uunet!intrbas!kenn From: kenn@intrbas.uucp (Kenneth G. Goutal) Newsgroups: comp.groupware Subject: Re: Using news for internal communications Keywords: news; notes; organizational structures Message-ID: <129@intrbas.UUCP> Date: 2 Jan 91 23:04:03 GMT References: <20813@crg5.UUCP> <1080@zinn.MV.COM> <2355@key.COM> Sender: news@intrbasintrbas.UUCP Organization: Interbase Software Corporation Lines: 24 Nntp-Posting-Host: krebs When I was at DEC, we had things called 'notesfiles', similar I guess to the ones to which you refer, but a different hunk of code, what eventually became VAX NOTES. Some notesfiles were on PDP-11's, but most were on VAXen. Anyway, each notesfile was a single file. Inodes were certainly not an issue. Some notesfiles eventually got big enough that they had to be periodically archived, but that was typically once per quarter or once per year. I thought of one that I missed: - personal comfort with the user interface. Dragging out a favorite soapbox, I would like to point out that the perfect interface for one user is not the perfect -- or even an acceptable -- interface for another. Groupware designers must take this into account as much as any other designers of software must. A related item is that while it's probably good if all functions used by a user share a similarity in their interface, it's probably *not* good to make one interface literally be the end-all-be-all for all functions. Both are important. -- Kenn Goutal ...!linus!intrbas!kenn ...!uunet!intrbas!kenn