Xref: utzoo news.admin:15464 news.software.b:8402 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!att!rutgers!mit-eddie!bbn.com!nic!news.cs.brandeis.edu!chaos.cs.brandeis.edu!cos From: cos@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Ofer Inbar) Newsgroups: news.admin,news.software.b Subject: Re: Really funny jokes being missed Message-ID: Date: 22 Jun 91 20:37:59 GMT References: <285CA8D6.273B@tct.com> <1991Jun19.050412.8903@solbourne.com> Sender: usenet@news.cs.brandeis.edu Organization: Brandeis University Lines: 25 kucharsk@solbourne.com (William Kucharski) writes: >In article mathew@mantis.co.uk (Giving C News a *HUG*) writes: > >> Its purpose is to transmit *correct* articles. It succeeds. > >No, the purpose of the news transport software is to correctly transmit the > >news articles which it receives. > > > >C News failed in that purpose. > >No, this is like saying a compiler's purpose is to compile what I give it, >not what's a legal program. Or, if you'd like, I can be nit-picky and say >that if it doesn't obey the RFC syntax, it's NOT a news article, no matter >what your posting software may say. Now, I don't want to give the impression that I support one side or the other in this flame war (I don't know the issues involved, I missed the beginning of the thread), BUT: If you give a compiler something that does not meet the language spec, the compiler will generate an error message, and tell you what was wrong. So the analogy here is somewhat flawed. -- Cos (Ofer Inbar) -- cos@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu -- WBRS (BRiS) -- WBRS@binah.cc.brandeis.edu WBRS@brandeis.bitnet Broken Newsreader (TM): a newsreader which lacks certain features that my newsreader has, if said features would defuse my opponents' argument.