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From: rick@seismo.CSS.GOV (Rick Adams)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: net.internat
Message-ID: <513@seismo.CSS.GOV>
Date: Wed, 23-Oct-85 12:38:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: seismo.513
Posted: Wed Oct 23 12:38:26 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Oct-85 01:05:13 EDT
References: <6659@boring.UUCP> <652@stc-b.stc.UUCP>
Organization: Center for Seismic Studies, Arlington, VA
Lines: 33
Keywords: USA != World
Summary: clarification of spafs position on net.internat

Since Gene is not doing it, I'd like to say how I interpreted his message.

First, I don't think there was ever a question about the existance
of a newsgroup to discuss problems relating to internalionalizing unix.

I believe the objections were purely administrative.

The first objection was that it wasn't created in the proper manner.
There is a point to this. If we complain about bogus groups appearing
from nowhere, we have to oppose ALL undiscussed groups, despite their
obvious technical merit. Once you start making exceptions because
it's "obviously" a good thing, you blur the distinction of bad or good.
If it is really good (and I think it is) it can stand the inspection.

The second objection was the name. Personally, I don't like net.internat.
We are moving towards more meaningful names and this isn't.
net.unix.internat[ional] would be more meaningful to me. However,
it's not the only alternative. This is one of the things that would
have been discussed in the normal creation of the group.

The third question was would it be more appropriate as a moderated group.
I would love to have it moderated, but I doubt if
we can find anyone to do it. In my opinion there are not a lot of
new ideas in it(yet). The first 50 articles can be summarized as the character
set is inadequate, the date format is inadequate and the keyboard
layout is not good. Most of the rest are the "Yeah, I agree" variety.
(By the way, net.unix and unix-wizards also suffer from this problem.
It is common). I had already unsubscribed because I was tired of reading
that a 7 bit character was inadequate for the 20th time. If it
were moderated, I'd always read it. As it stands, I really don't have
the time.

---rick