Xref: utzoo alt.config:85 news.config:497
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!necntc!dandelion!ulowell!page
From: page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page)
Newsgroups: alt.config,news.config
Subject: Re: The size of the 'alt' subnet
Message-ID: <5161@swan.ulowell.edu>
Date: 29 Feb 88 16:58:54 GMT
Reply-To: page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page)
Organization: University of Lowell, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 32

Well, I learned a whole lot about the value of sendsys!

I didn't send a sendsys to the whole net as a control, nor did I send
one out with a UUCP address as a Reply-To: line.  If I ever do another
one, I'll certainly remember this.

I'd like to see a new control message .. 'doesget', where I can send
	Control: doesget alt
and get a response that says
	Subject: site foovax.uucp: doesget alt YES
or
	Subject: site foovax.uucp: doesget alt NO

This way, system admins wouldn't be so paranoid about protecting their
sys files, so they probably wouldn't turn this feature off.  And I'd
only get the information I was looking for, easily parsable by some
mail subject reader.  This also means I'd have to assume everyone was
running the new software that supports the 'doesget' control message!

I did another size test in alt: counted every site that had passed or
generated an article in the last six weeks.  I looked at the Path:
line and counted the number of unique sites I found.  Total: 852 (I
won't bother to list them here).  This data isn't a whole lot more
reliable than sendsys, since there are presumably lots of leaf sites
who don't post, and they won't show up in the total.  However, it
is 300 more sites than responded to my sendsys request!

I can't think of any better ways to find out how many sites carry alt.

..Bob
-- 
Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept.  page@swan.ulowell.edu  ulowell!page
"I don't know such stuff.  I just do eyes."  -- from 'Blade Runner'