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From: conrad@popvax.uucp (M20400@c.nobili)
Newsgroups: news.groups,comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: RFD comp.sys.handelds split
Summary: comp.sys.calculators and comp.sys.palmtops ...
Keywords: comp.sys.calculators comp.sys.palmtops
Message-ID: <6831@husc6.harvard.edu>
Date: 21 May 91 00:21:43 GMT
References: <7567@rex.cs.tulane.edu>
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Organization: Harvard University, Office for Information Technology
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In article <7567@rex.cs.tulane.edu> mandel@vax.anes.tulane.edu writes:
>... I know some of you think that whatever makes sense to you as a reworking of
>the namespace must obviously be a candidate solution, but I found out
>otherwise.

Do you have some good reason for saying this?  Have the powers that be said that
the namespace cannot be changed?  What are the exact limitations?  Please tell
us what you know....

I think everyone agrees that your last suggestion was garbage.  It grows more
and more clear that there is something of a consensus in favor of creating two
new groups:  comp.sys.calculators and comp.sys.palmtops, and destroying the old
comp.sys.handhelds.  If that is considered to be too much of a change to the
namespace, then maybe we can accomodate that concern by re-inserting .handhelds
after the sys part.  I know that leaves long names, but who _really_ cares.  I
suspect that most people have a .newsrc file (with comp.sys.handhelds at the top
at the moment I hope! ;-) which takes care of all the names.  And if the palmtop
people don't like that term (I might suggest that it IS common in the industry)
then they could maybe choose "organizers" or something.  (Personally, I think
the term "palmtop" will start seeming better as the HP95LX begins to dominate
that market....)

So, I see a consensus forming for the ideal:
	comp.sys.calculators
	comp.sys.palmtops		or	comp.sys.organizers

But, if we cannot create any new namespaces outside of comp.sys.handhelds:
	comp.sys.handhelds.calculators
	comp.sys.handhelds.palmtops	or	comp.sys.handhelds.organizers

Or, if we just cannot destroy comp.sys.handhelds:
	comp.sys.handhelds
	comp.sys.palmtops		or	comp.sys.organizers

None of this addresses the sources-and-binaries issue, as I see that as separate
and easily accomodated by either the current or any of the proposed namespaces
above.

I suggest that perhaps we should consider voting on the above proposals depend-
ing on what the parameters are.  Please enlighten us, Jeff, if there are more
restrictions than some of us had assumed....

If Jeff's RFD is going to have limited flexibility (and a hidden agenda? -- what
sort of machine does he use?) then I'm inclined to recommend that we just wait
for the vote, shoot down any action, and make a new RFD.  I think that the hor-
rifying prospect of more pollution of this news group with these RFDs will make
Jeff and the net.whatevers come around....

Seriously, I think we have a consensus....

>Jeff E Mandel MD MS
>Asst. Professor of Anesthesiology
>Tulane University School of Medicine
>New Orleans, LA
>mandel@vax.anes.tulane.edu

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