Xref: utzoo misc.misc:2204 news.misc:1153
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!rutgers!topaz.rutgers.edu!brandx.rutgers.edu!webber
From: webber@brandx.rutgers.edu (Webber)
Newsgroups: misc.misc,news.misc
Subject: Re: The solution to: Re: "We don't get that newsgroup here"
Message-ID: <704@brandx.rutgers.edu>
Date: 9 Jan 88 07:05:23 GMT
References: <2390@dasys1.UUCP> <1987Dec31.065249.24476@sq.uucp> <7979@e.ms.uky.edu>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 37

In article <7979@e.ms.uky.edu>, david@ms.uky.edu (David Herron -- Resident E-mail Hack) writes:
> In article <505@cresswell.quintus.UUCP> ok@quintus.UUCP (Richard A. O'Keefe) writes:
> >In article <693@brandx.rutgers.edu>, webber@brandx.rutgers.edu (Webber) writes:
> >> The only fix I can see is to refuse to accept postings from sites that
> >> don't carry the full set of groups (thus emphasizing the different
> ...
> Bob.  Eh?  "refuse to accept ..."  eh?  maybe I'm missing some
> important context here but I don't see the purpose to your suggestion.

My suggestion solves the problem of people posting to a group because it
is the best fit of the groups they have available to them instead of being
the global best fit in terms of the ``standard'' group set.

The problem takes on many interesting aspects now that ``alternate''
news hierarchies are being encouraged.  I am maintaining that there
should be two levels of joining a news hierarchy.  One level is
``browse'' where one news hierarchy accepts another on a read (and
local discuss) basis and the other is ``conversation'' where two news
hierarchies merge.  When two news hiearchies merge, they in essence
form a new news hierarchy that is the union of the two old ones.  They
only exist in conversation mode with other sites in the ``merger.''  A
site would distribute anything it can find takers for but only accept
from sites that carry a superset of the groups that it carries.

This allows everyone to maintain the integrity of their local namespace.
Alternatively, one could allow that there is no such thing as a improperly
posted news message and that the purpose of newsgroups is not to tell
the reader what they can expect to find, but rather to tell the poster
something about the audience they can expect to be listening.  So, if you want
to talk with unix wizards about the in and outs of raising guppies, then
there is nothing wrong with posting a message about raising guppies to
unix-wizards.  Thus, news groups take on more the feeling of clubs than
of library categories.  Within the traffic for each news club, other mechanisms
could be used to distinquish topics under the assumption that people
who join the club have access to the whole club.

--------- BOB (webber@athos.rutgers.edu ; rutgers!athos.rutgers.edu!webber)