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From: reid@Glacier.ARPA (Brian Reid)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: proposed new structure for `fa' groups
Message-ID: <13213@Glacier.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 15-Oct-85 21:01:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: Glacier.13213
Posted: Tue Oct 15 21:01:36 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 17-Oct-85 02:20:34 EDT
References: <10523@ucbvax.ARPA> <228@epicen.UUCP> <10569@ucbvax.ARPA>
Reply-To: reid@Glacier.UUCP (Brian Reid)
Organization: Stanford University, Computer Systems Lab
Lines: 29
Summary: don't do it

I feel quite strongly that
 (a) You should not muck with the names of ARPAnet groups
 (b) Some distinction should be made between "fa" and "mod" groups.

It is a matter of factual record that
 (c) There is no technological need to switch from "fa" to "mod".

Elaboration:

(a) The name of laser-lovers is "laser-lovers", and that's all
there is to it. Any attempt to change its name is fraudulent. Do you want to
change the name of "Life" magazine to "Weekly-cute-pictures-and-stories"
because it doesn't have enough biology? Be serious. Leave the names of the
USENET versions of things equal to the ARPAnet names of them.

(b) Lauren is 100% right about the need to maintain a distinction. Since
Glacier is on the ARPAnet, I reject the "fa.*" newsgroups from all of our
feeds, and gateway them in myself. I intend to keep doing this even if this
name change takes place; it will be a lot more work and a lot more
error-prone if I can no longer just put a "!fa.all" in the sys file. We in
turn feed about 30 sites, and they get the gatewayed-through-Glacier version
of the fa groups and not the "real" version.

(c) All "fa" groups can be handled as moderated groups. All you have to do is
make an entry in the "moderators" file, and all reputable news software will
handle it like a moderated group regardless of what its name is.
-- 
	Brian Reid	decwrl!glacier!reid
	Stanford	reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA