Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!iuvax!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uiucdcsm!murakami
From: murakami@uiucdcsm.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp
Subject: Re: The rebirth of USENET
Message-ID: <6000001@uiucdcsm>
Date: 15 Jun 88 15:56:00 GMT
References: <585@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Lines: 39
Nf-ID: #R:cbnews.ATT.COM:585:uiucdcsm:6000001:000:1841
Nf-From: uiucdcsm.cs.uiuc.edu!murakami    Jun 15 10:56:00 1988



> "att" is serving as a professionally run replacement for ihnp4 and cbosgd.

Mark, are you saying that I didn't run ihnp4 professionally (or that you
didn't run cbosgd professionally)  ;-) ?

That Usenet works at all - or as "well" as it does - is a tribute to the
cooperative effort of people, not just machines.  The backbone sites 
represent people who give of their time to see that the mail and news go
through (like the Pony Express of old?).  Unfortunately, some of the
riders wear out along with some of the mounts, or the government decides
to cut back on services or to shut down certain post offices.

In the early days of ihnp4, I had this vision that email and netnews would
dramatically improve communications in AT&T Bell Laboratories, in all of
AT&T, in USENET, and in the uttermost part of the world.  Improved
communications would result in major economic, social, and political
benefits as well as the creation of friendships 8-) (rose colored glasses).

ihnp4 produced the AT&T-BL Corporate Electronic Mail project and Network
Action Central (large scale coordination of UNIX networking in AT&T).
External mail and news service to universities, corporations, and
individuals bridged communication into and out of AT&T.  I considered
the service to be good for technical information exchange, public
relations, and some of the best spent advertizing money for AT&T.

Although I've gradually withdrawn from active support of ihnp4, I still
log in daily to check on it.  Unfortunately, I no longer have any
influence on the future of its service.

With the impending departure of ihnp4 and cbosgd, it may be time for
the start of a Pony Express or Usenet Pioneers memorial.  If so, I
nominate Brian Redman (a.k.a. harpo!ber) as charter member.

Gary Murakami
ihnp4!gjm
research!gjm
uiucdcs!murakami
murakami@cs.uiuc.edu