Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!umnd-cs!umn-cs!haque
From: haque@umn-cs.UUCP (Samudra E. Haque)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Request For Comments-- Should IBM be on the net?
Message-ID: <1903@umn-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 9-Aug-87 02:46:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: umn-cs.1903
Posted: Sun Aug  9 02:46:57 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Aug-87 13:43:24 EDT
Organization: CSci Systems Group,University of Minnesota,Mpls.
Lines: 43
Keywords: IBM contact network information comments request answer

+========================================================+
Please note this was written in a hurry.. Sorry for the grammar
and syntax. There aren't that many HOURS in a day to do everything 
I wish!!
+========================================================+

I am thinking of a proposal to "IBM" (we have a local liason office
here at the University of Minnesota) to invite them to become a new
member to USENET. With all the "millyuns and millyuns" of users and
megabytes of traffic flowing accross on comp.sys.ibm.pc and
comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest and whatever.else, and with all the discussion
that we do about them, against them, and for them.. [re: PS/2 vs DOS
and such].. it might be time for them to become aware of the vast
number of Technically Oriented Users out there! We are quite a community 
of people .. covering all ranges of jobs.

What I am about to propose is something similiar to what SUN
microsystems has informally set up on the USENET. (I believe there is a 
Daniel Bercel from SUN who is an avid fan in this group? She might be able 
to correlate for me). If you have any comments,gripes about SUN products you 
can mail to sun.UUCP and they would forward it internally to whoever was 
responsible. They even welcome their own engineers to look out for possible 
customer enquiries.. (example being fischer@umn-cs's request for info about 
PC-NFS being carried on to the author of the Program itself, who works for 
SUN).... This is the sort of communication that I would like to see..... 
with IBM!!!!

What I really REALLY need is comments on the PROs and CONs and 
usefullness/un-usefullness of such a "gateway" to IBM. What I will 
be doing is collecting all responses and forwarding to the local 
liason team here through BITNET.  I am currently suggesting using a IBM/RT 
using UUCP as a gateway to transfer between IBM internal network (how does 
that work?) and the rest-of-the-world. More information requested from 
knowledgable USENETters.

+========================================================+
Samudra E. Haque
Computer Science Systems Group (CSSG) 
Computer Science Department
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
(612) 625-0876	
haque@umn-cs.ARPA || haque@umn-cs.UUCP || haque@uminn1.BITNET
+========================================================+