Xref: utzoo comp.dcom.modems:1222 news.misc:1149 news.groups:2240
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ncr-sd!greg
From: greg@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Greg Noel)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,news.misc,news.groups
Subject: Re: Telebit Modems (actually prod-support newsgroup)
Message-ID: <2000@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM>
Date: 21 Jan 88 01:50:57 GMT
References: <3101@phri.UUCP> <1499@codas.att.com> <5411@zen.berkeley.edu>
Reply-To: greg@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Greg Noel)
Organization: NCR Corporation, Rancho Bernardo
Lines: 43

In article <275@cutsys.UUCP> cutter@cutsys.UUCP (Bernie Hoffstadt) writes:
>	I'm surprised that no one has suggested the proposed product-
>support newsgroups be moderated.  ....
>... where would we find suitable moderators?

So far, we have been interested observers of this conversation; it's time we
stuck in our two cents worth, since we are interested in the same thing.....

At NCR, we know that there are quite a few Towers on the Usenet network, so
we have been considering a moderated product-support newsgroup.  We haven't
settled on anything yet, but so far, the best idea seems to be to have the
moderator be someone in the Product Support Department -- that is, the same
people you would get if you called the NCR Product Support Hotline.

The moderator's responsibility would be to simply post anything that wasn't
a bug report.  However, if it \was/ a bug report, they would search for the
same problem in the data base of known bugs.  If one was found, the resolution
or work-around of the bug would be added to the article before being posted.
If none was found, a new trouble report would be created and the TR number
added to the article before it was posted so that progress of the fix could
be traced.  In all cases, the article would be posted; no censorship.  (We
might reserve the right to request that the poster revise inappropriate
material or post it to a different news group, but that would be all.)

In addition, new trouble reports (as well as trouble reports that had been
received by telephone) would be circulated in an internal news group that
would be read by developer personnel.  This would make it possible for the
fix to be quickly made available.

An alternative we have considered is a mailing list that was gatewayed into
an internal news group, but that doesn't seem as desireable.  Another proposal
has been for an unmoderated news group; this seemed to be too subject to abuse.

The bottom line is that NCR is also interested in establishing a product
support news group, and we would like to encourage the establishment of the
ground rules so that they would be possible.

Disclamer:  I am not an official spokesman for NCR; the above is only my
interpretation of an on-going discussion upon how we can best provide support
to our customers.  This particular suggestion may never become an available
service.
-- 
-- Greg Noel, NCR Rancho Bernardo   Greg.Noel@SanDiego.NCR.COM  or  greg@ncr-sd