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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ukma!david
From: david@ukma.UUCP (David Herron, NPR Lover)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: magic numbers (Really: votes fo
Message-ID: <2168@ukma.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Sep-85 23:30:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ukma.2168
Posted: Wed Sep 11 23:30:00 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Sep-85 11:38:24 EDT
References: <494@klipper.UUCP> <3500008@ccvaxa>
Reply-To: david@ukma.UUCP (David Herron, NPR Lover)
Organization: Univ. of KY Mathematical Sciences
Lines: 63

In article <3500008@ccvaxa> preece@ccvaxa.UUCP writes:
>> Hmm....the fact that people use septic tanks and sewers seem to imply a
>> valid criterion for their existence, but I sure am not going to spend
>> any of my time and money to keep one in my computing center or my
>> office./* Written 10:00 am  Sep  7, 1985 by spaf@gatech.CSNET in
>> ccvaxa:net.news.group */
>----------
>What, no bathrooms in your computing center?  No wonder you're touchy.
>The point was (and is) that it doesn't cost you anything to keep an
>empty group on your system and (unlike the road in your metaphor)
>it doesn't get in your way or diminish your enjoyment of your system
>(unless you're horribly upset by the list of groups being n+m pages
>instead of n).

I disagree with this ... one problem I've had users here mention to me
was the sheer size of the newsgroup list.  And I have to agree.  The
only reason I know my way around the list is because I'm a fanatic.  Others
don't have the time or inclination to read the whole thing.

It would be very helpful if it were pruned down some more and better
organized.  (Both recent projects).

To take an example.  The common problem of net.wanted.sources and net.sources.
Net.sources see's a lot of postings of "I need part x of y, will somebody
please mail it to me".  Postings like this belong in net.wanted.sources,
net.sources.  (And has caused many flames in the past).  What's the reason
that net.wanted.sources isn't used fully?  Because people looking at the
newsgroup list see net.sources and go no further because net.wanted.sources
is so far away.

Perhaps a best solution is to partition the net further.  (It's happening
anyway, maybe we should just go whole hog and do it).  It's been suggested
frequently recently.  I'm saying, have a silly net, a singles net, a
politics net, and a unix-wizards net.  (silly.all, singles.all, politics.all, 
and unix.all)  (These aren't good names, but you get the idea don't you?)

In doing this we would:

	1. Allow people to more easily choose the amount of news
	   (and hence, phone money and disk space they're expending).
	2. Reduce the total traffic to most sites.
	3. Make the name space smaller.
	4. Make the "administration" of each "subnet" more responsive
	   to the unique properties of each "subnet".
	5. Bring back "small" and "friendly" to descriptions of the net.
	6. ???

(What I mean by "it's happening anyway" is that sites all over are
cutting back to what they really want.  That's a step in this direction.
The logical conclusion of which is what I suggested above.  A backbone
site might decide it isn't going to carry some set of groups any longer 
because nobody but other backbones are seeing it.  But some set of sites
over here might want to exchange the newsgroup with some set over there.
And, traditionally they've been doing it using the backbone.  Now they
need another avenue.  ..... the rest is left as an excersize to the reader).

-- 
--- David Herron
--- ARPA-> ukma!david@ANL-MCS.ARPA
--- UUCP-> {ucbvax,unmvax,boulder,oddjob}!anlams!ukma!david
---        {ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax}!cbosgd!ukma!david

Hackin's in me blood.  My mother was known as Miss Hacker before she married!