Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site pyuxn.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!microsoft!uw-beaver!cornell!vax135!ariel!hou5f!hou5g!hou5h!eagle!mhuxi!mhuxl!mhuxm!pyuxi!pyuxn!rlr
From: rlr@pyuxn.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Distribution field in postnews
Message-ID: <324@pyuxn.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Oct-83 13:16:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxn.324
Posted: Mon Oct 24 13:16:54 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Oct-83 22:44:09 EDT
References: <464@cbosgd.UUCP> <572@houxm.UUCP> <641@machaids.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Piscataway
Lines: 21

I had made some proposals along the lines of the "Distribution" concept
a while ago.  What I was thinking of was more along these lines:  Why
have net.XXX or nj.XXX or anything.XXX???  Have groups like "wanted",
"general", "misc", "audio", etc.  THEN have an additional "distribution"
field (that wasn't the name I had used, but it's probably better) associated
with each article.  Each site would have a variety of distribution
characteristics like country-name, state/province name, company-name,
site-name, machine-name.  For example, pyuxn might be "usa, nj, btl, py,
pyuxn".  If you don't put a distribution field in your article, it would
go to only some default (e.g., your machine, your site).  This article would
be labelled "Newsgroups: cog-eng ... Distribution: net", which would go
to all sites.  The "old" syntax (distribution.newsgroup) would be parsed by
inews and re-organized accordingly.

Thus by sending an article to "Newsgroups: audio, video ...
Distribution: my state"  allows the article to be seen by people only in
your state (e.g.,"Tell me where the good places to buy audio and video tape are
in this state?").  You could even indicate "Distrib.:  my-company & my-state".
This means go to all sites in this state that are also part of this company.

Comments?