Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2.fluke 9/24/84; site fluke.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxj!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!fluke!moriarty From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) Newsgroups: net.news,net.news.stargate,net.general,net.misc Subject: A hopefully *calm*, *rational*, and *brief* overview of stargate. Message-ID: <293@vax2.fluke.UUCP> Date: Tue, 22-Jan-85 23:05:56 EST Article-I.D.: vax2.293 Posted: Tue Jan 22 23:05:56 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 25-Jan-85 05:13:31 EST References: <504@vortex.UUCP> <493@fisher.UUCP> <513@tpvax.fluke.UUCP> Reply-To: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA Lines: 104 Xref: watmath net.news:3044 net.news.stargate:82 net.general:4232 net.misc:7342 I didn't want to get into this. I've been calmly reading this on the sidelines, and haven't wanted to do anything but stay out and hope that it would die down (not that there has ever been anything to flame about in the first place). Let us all settle down. Deep Breath. In. Out. OK. I will attempt (repeat *ATTEMPT*) to summarize what I learned after about 3 hours of reading through net.news and net.stargate. The three main points are: 1) NO CHANGES ARE BEING MADE IN NET NEWS! 2) Since there is no big "change", nothing has been kept "secret". In fact, even WITH no big change, nothing has been kept "secret". net.news and net.stargate have been keeping people informed for the last several months. 3) This whole furor has started due to Frank Adrian sending out messages that "fascists" were out to change the net, and his fairly abusive conclusion. I had hoped that the latter would have tipped off most of you that the person flaming might not have his perspectives straight, but apparently not. Hopefully, some of you know me from my writings, and while I may be irreverent, I am generally not abusive, nor given to jumping to conclusions. Below is a brief description of the situation; I hope it is a fairly accurate overview (i.e. corrections are welcome; flames are not). It is decidedly non-technical, as it is gleamed from only the net.news postings, and to presume to even approach Lauren's knowledge of the subject would be rare stupidity (for me, anyway). Apparently, for the last few months, Lauren Weinstein has been arranging satellite transmission of news articles through WTBS in Atlanta. This is an experiment which allows anyone getting WTBS on cable (and, of course, with the proper computer and receiving equipment), to read articles - definitely an interesting project, and one with great merit to expanding network news to a larger audience (my opinions here, obviously (just being scrupulously careful :-) )). This is strictly a side project being funded by WTBS, Lauren (especially his time!), and I imagine Lauren's company; it is NOT a planned replacement for ANYTHING... in fact, Lauren mentioned it will probably be temporary in its present form, due to the fact that while WTBS is (generously) giving free transmission time, this will not last forever. Lauren decided to broadcast current usenet articles over the satellite (called STARGATE -- catchy, that), but decided that he would like to have the news moderated before being sent out. He asked for volunteers for sifting through different newsgroups for postings. Again (I hate to beat this into the ground), this is LAUREN'S EXPERIMENT... it has nothing to do with us; he's just sending some net articles over the airwaves. Now, many of you who read Frank Adrian's letter are going, "So what's the fuss?" Well, Lauren and others have been hypothesizing that, as the UUCP network continues to get more crowded, the cost for netnews will spiral upwards, and that some sites will decide to stop forwarding some newsgroups. They also hypothesize that a satellite transmission method would be comparatively cheaper, and that some of the backbone sites might start forwarding only news they got through the satellite link. Lauren and others also feel that moderated news is better than the current format, i.e. that there is a lot of crap floating around. That's it. These were opinions and hypothesis -- you're average technical newsgroup fare. The theories put forward have always projected that the move to satellite news would happen when *individual sites* decided that the cost for the current phone UUCP method had become too great. NO ONE has put forward, in any article I read, a plan to force sites to change; the idea is ridiculous in the first place, as a sites choose how many or how few sites they communicate with, and how they do it. However, certain people who do not like the idea of moderated newsgroups came up with the idea that there was a plan to replace the Usenet with the moderated STARGATE -- I have no idea how. Among them (from all appearances) was Frank Adrian, who posted the net to nearly every newsgroup in creation (even net.wobegon, where he frightened many shy people) that there was a conspiracy afoot. Most of you came in at this point. ----------- Well, several closing points. If you still are curious, or feel suspicious that I have not been impartial enough, please read the last few months of net.news and net.stargate. It's about an hour-and-a-half job, but there is no substitute for first-hand evidence. You may not agree with Lauren or Chuq's or others views of moderated/unmoderated news, or with their predictions of what will eventually happen; fine. Net.news is a good place to discuss eventualities, theories and (especially!) other solutions, as long as it is kept to a rational tone (99.9% do). If you still feel worried about moderated news or such, you might send a note to your site administrator, just to let her/him know how you feel (best keep it brief, every site administrator I know is knee-deep in work). And for gosh sake, don't bother Lauren; from what I can see, he's busy as all get-out. Lastly, as Douglas Adam's famous creation might say, DON'T PANIC (in a nice, reassuring Mac Font) -- no changes in the netnews (other than the constant upkeep that Chuq, Mark, Rick, Spaf and others do) is being made; in the long run, the state of the net will depend on individual net sites. Sorry to bother you; I thought after the bogus net-wide "alert" many might be wondering what was going on. Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. UUCP: {cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \ {allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA