Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ukma!rex!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!lot!ables From: ables@lot.ACA.MCC.COM (King Ables) Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix Subject: Re: ;login: newsletter status Message-ID: <2189@lot.ACA.MCC.COM> Date: 11 Mar 91 15:33:08 GMT References: Organization: MCC ACT Program, Austin, TX Lines: 38 From article , by bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein): > > IF ;login: were published electronically, what format would be best? That's the $64,000 question, isn't it? Plain text is the only rational answer (for everybody), I think. I know of sites that have whatever standard troff came with their machine, but since they don't have a CAT phototypesetter, it's useless to them (yes, they can nroff and print that... but that is about the same as plain text if you ask me...). I'd love to be able to say postscript, but I've been very disappointed with the (few) postscript previewers I've ever seen. Even then, you have to assume someone has a bitmaped display or a postscript printer. I think some people would be shocked at the "primitive" unix sites that are still around out there... ADM terminals and 68000 boxes... The only way to keep EVERYBODY happy is to use plain text... and these are the people who are even CAPABLE of receiving it, which isn't everybody. Someone else brought up a good point as well. Do we consider ;login a privilege of membership or is it public information. If it truly is to be viewed as public (and CS becomes the privilege of membership), then posting the nroff'ed version to the net seems reasonable. And people could check a box on their membership application/renewal that says whether a hard-copy mailing of ;login was necessary. This way, those who didn't have e-mail or news could still get it. Personally, I don't think there have been many cases of delays, this past one was kind of interesting, but it's not an on-going problem. Other than the amount of paper used, I don't see a need for a change (and I like to keep old issues anyway, and if I were to pitch them, I would certainly pitch them in the recycle bin). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- King Ables Micro Electronics and Computer Technology Corp. ables@mcc.com 3500 W. Balcones Center Drive +1 512 338 3749 Austin, TX 78759 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- We don't inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.