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From: farren@hoptoad.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: My Last Words (was: Re: Jtime.arc Posting)
Message-ID: <1972@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: Fri, 10-Apr-87 01:52:13 EST
Article-I.D.: hoptoad.1972
Posted: Fri Apr 10 01:52:13 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Apr-87 14:36:39 EST
References: <10423@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> <520@madvax.UUCP> <479@oscvax.UUCP> <1957@hoptoad.uucp> <285@mcdsun.UUCP>
Reply-To: farren@hoptoad.UUCP (Mike Farren)
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 30

This will be the last thing I post about this controversy.  My mind is made
up; the only thing left to do is to let you know my thinking, so you can
make up your own minds.

First, I reiterate my previous posting:  by my tests, ARCing files first,
then uuencoding them, results in substantial losses in efficiency when
compress is used in news transmission.  Therefore, I recommend posting
the simple uuencoded binaries, perhaps shared with other files, in lieu
of posting uuencoded ARC files.

Second, I received a lot of comments to the effect of: yes, but all sites
do not use compress.  This is true, but in those cases, the site has made
its own choice as to the tradeoff between communications time/costs and
CPU time/costs.  They are free to change their minds at any time.  If they
do not, then one must presume that they are aware of the cost; that they
are willing to assume the costs in money and time of transmitting larger
files than is strictly necessary.  The argument also cuts the other way:
by ARCing files, you are increasing the costs of all of the sites that DO
compress news (a majority, I believe).

I am convinced (and I don't change my mind easily, believe me!) that my
old stance, that files should be ARCed, is wrong.  I will personally act
on this; you are free to do as you will.


-- 
----------------
                 "... if the church put in half the time on covetousness
Mike Farren      that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..."
hoptoad!farren       Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Days"