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From: dick@ccb.ucsf.edu (Dick Karpinski)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Usenet in Hypertext form
Message-ID: <1067@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
Date: Wed, 4-Nov-87 17:12:38 EST
Article-I.D.: ucsfcca.1067
Posted: Wed Nov  4 17:12:38 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Nov-87 16:37:15 EST
References: <1058@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> <8711022250.AA01367@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Sender: root@cca.ucsf.edu
Reply-To: dick@ucsfccb.UUCP (Dick Karpinski)
Organization: UCSF Computer Center
Lines: 50
Summary: Take it in little pieces, using it continually.

In article <8711022250.AA01367@bu-cs.BU.EDU> bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes:
>
>I think the first thing to do may not be to really provide all the
>software etc to deal with hypertext but perhaps to decide what
>information needs to be stored and how and to provide the ability to
>ignore it until the systems are fully built.

Don't wait for some fully built system.  Just make an initial stab
at some useful aspect and pass it around for trial and change.

>For example it would be nice if I could just enter a Hypertext
>reference \(ref 1043) right into my text (probably by program) and
>know that most USENET reader programs \(ref 4a.37) would just ignore
>it by some simple rule (elide or interpret backslash followed by
>matching parens, for example.)

Let's pick some nice form for references and find out where and why
it runs into difficulties.  One nice way is to identify the form of
references in each document by some device like /*hyperref:{:}:*/
where the "hyperref:...:...:" is the fixed part.  Any characters on 
the outside may be used to hide the specifier from ignorant systems.
The characters between the colons are then the delimiters in use
for this document (or until another hyperref).  This makes it easy
to revise any such document to accomodate local requirements without 
changing its meaning.

>Given a suitably powerful escape like that experimentation should
>be able grow \(ref bzs@bu-cs:1477 (graphic 106.CFD)) unfettered.

You have got the idea I had in mind.  Who is familiar with the
philosophy that WEB uses for this sort of thing??  Who (besides
Larry Wall) could implement a useful article reference in rn like
this??  Should the definition be more robust??  A trailing word
(ferrepyh?) could avoid false hits and allow even the ":" to vary.

How should the reference be indicated to the reader?
How should the reader ask to see the reference?
How should references to this document be found from here?
How much of the HyperCard semantics should be emulated?
Who cares?

>	-Barry Shein, Boston University

Dick

Dick Karpinski  Manager of Minicomputer Services, UCSF Computer Center
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