Xref: utzoo comp.sys.att:2373 news.groups:2445 unix-pc.general:277
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!zorch!scott
From: scott@zorch.UU.NET (Scott Hazen Mueller)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att,news.groups,unix-pc.general
Subject: Re: unix-pc.* newsgroups
Message-ID: <408@zorch.UU.NET>
Date: 3 Feb 88 15:44:31 GMT
References: <337@flatline.UUCP> <3831@islenet.UUCP> <1613@ethos.UUCP>
Reply-To: scott@zorch.UU.NET (Scott Hazen Mueller)
Organization: At Home; Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 57

In article <1613@ethos.UUCP> gary@ethos.UUCP (Gary J. Smith) writes:
>have been in unix-pc and not comp.sys.att.  That is one reason
>why we are reluctant abandon the unix-pc ship.  

So far, there has been only one proposal to completely merge the two groups.
My gateway proposal started out as a *compromise* to allow comp.sys.att
readers to see the unix-pc groups.  I have no intention of trying to merge
the two networks.

>I think we have been pointing out flaws right and left.  I have
>no particular aversion to your creating some kind of gateway--as
>long as it doesn't mean articles start getting double posted and
>readers of comp.sys.att don't have to start wading through 2
>copies of every cross-posted article written.

If you're interested in seeing how the gateway works, here's the script:

cat >/tmp/art$$
if grep "Newsgroups:.*comp\.sys\.att" /tmp/art$$ >/dev/null; then
  rm -f /tmp/art$$
  exit 0
else
  mail gatelist </tmp/art$$
  rm -f /tmp/art$$
fi
exit 0

Yes, it is indeed coded to remove cross-posted articles.  As you see,
that's an entirely trivial operation:  'grep'.

>I just wonder why the gateway is necessary when cross-posting serves the
>exact same purpose.

Because, for many reasons discussed in other postings, cross-posting is not
a *viable* alternative.  People either can't crosspost or will forget to do
so.

>And again, it isn't as if people can't get hooked up to the unix-pc net.
>Many sites are willing to serve as feeders, and my machine is one of them.

Getting unix-pc added to existing services such as mail or comp.sys.att is
easy for non-sysadmin types.  Getting a feed for someone who either 1) does
not run News on their site, or 2) gets News at work, very often just isn't
worth their effort.

I'd certainly much rather feed news to everyone on the mailing list, because
it would be cheaper in terms of machine and connect time, but I'm willing to
spend some of my resources doing it this way in the hope of helping a larger
number of people.

>Gary J. Smith, M.D.	{mcnc,ihnp4}!ethos!gary 
>			P.O. Box 8005, Gray, Tenn. 37615     

         \scott
-- 
Scott Hazen Mueller   scott@zorch.UU.NET
(408) 245-9461        (pyramid|tolerant|uunet)!zorch!scott