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From: bryce@eris.berkeley.edu (Bryce Nesbitt)
Newsgroups: news.groups,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: An update on the status of the .tech/.programmer split
Message-ID: <7345@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 3 Mar 88 10:09:27 GMT
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: bryce@eris.berkeley.edu (Bryce Nesbitt)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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An update on what is underway as far as comp.sys.amiga.tech.

I made a proposal for this group split and took a vote.  20 or so days into
the voting, the proposal was winning by a large margin (>150 votes).  Then
the filesystem on which the votes were kept was destroyed.  Backup tapes for
the time in question are not available.  Since the list of voters cannot be
produced, the proposal does not meet the group creation guidelines.  Even
though I want to see the group, I do not wish to buck established tradition.
I do not urge that the group be created in violation of the rules.


Someone did actually end up creating the group.  Because this person
is not a "net.god" it has little propagation.  No good.  If this is to
work, it must be well propagated.  Funny problems with creation rule
breaking will not achieve this result.


What will be done?  Well, several things.  First off, comp.sys.mac.programmer
did not have the same voting problems that .tech did.  comp.sys.amiga
can use the mac group for beta-testing of the idea :-).  I will "see to
it that another vote is taken" at some time in the future. 

Possible names people have asked for:

	Name				Objection
	--------------------------------------------------
	comp.sys.amiga.tech		;"What's a "tech"?
	comp.sys.amiga.developer
	comp.sys.amiga.programmer	;Where to technically oriented
					;hardware articles go?  Into
					;the non-technical group?

	comp.sys.amiga.developer & comp.sys.amiga.user
					;in this proposal there would
					;be no "comp.sys.amiga".

The distinction wanted here is to allow the targeting of discussion
to differentiate the "bit-twiddlers and structure swapping" crowd
from the "I use the machine, and BTW, what's a 'C' compiler do
anyway?" crowd.  

The groups have different needs and interests.  Having them in the
same group is like adding "startrek" discussion to comp.unix.wizards...
there should be a difference.


The keyword approaches that several people have advocated are probably
out... there is no such thing as a "minor change to the news software".


	Discussion in the "news.groups" newsgroup *ONLY*.  You will be
	publically insulted if you violate this.  And watch out, I just
	got a new "book of insults" :-).


|\_/|  . ACK!, NAK!, EOT!, SOH!
{O_o} .     Bryce Nesbitt
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