Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!garnett
From: garnett@cs.utexas.edu (John William Garnett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Trn and 'subject areas' (was Re: Breaking the group up.)
Keywords: split news group
Message-ID: <1205@cash.cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 22 Mar 91 09:04:27 GMT
References: <1991Mar21.173105.2755@pslu1.psl.wisc.edu> <259@ar-rimal.cs.utexas.edu> <1991Mar22.023043.19758@math.ucla.edu>
Organization: University of Texas at Austin
Lines: 42

In article <1991Mar22.023043.19758@math.ucla.edu> barry@pico.math.ucla.edu (Barry Merriman) writes:
>In article <259@ar-rimal.cs.utexas.edu> garnett@cs.utexas.edu (John William Garnett) writes:
]>
]>The effects of a split newsgroup could be more closely approximated
]>if each poster to comp.sys.next would always include a "subject area"
]>indication as the first keyword (in the Keywords: field).  This would
]>allow the user to search on a given subject area (thus skipping those
]>undesired subject areas).  
]
]Hey---that sounds like a good idea to me. Actually, it is better
]than splitting the group. particularly if one uses trn.
]Can trn be trained to filter things according to the keywords?

I'm not sure...  If not, we could always include the subject area as
the first part of the subject line.  In order to allow subject areas
with large names we would probably want to develop mnemonics to
use as abbreviations.  For example, SA: could be system administration.
APP: could be applications.  HW: could be hardware. PROG: could
be programming and MISC: for miscellaneous.

]So, lets decide on a naming convention. Since we are not 
]going to all the trouble of splitting the group, we can 
]try out a very large set of names, and let the unsuccesful
]ones die out.
]

This is true...  using this method, we could always easily change
the subject areas (whereas we probably couldn't do it easily after
splitting group).

There could be a weekly posting giving the mnemonics and corresponding
subject areas.

It also might make it easier to search archives of this newsgroup
if postings were pre-categorized.


-- 
John Garnett
                              University of Texas at Austin
garnett@cs.utexas.edu         Department of Computer Science
                              Austin, Texas