Xref: utzoo alt.config:487 news.config:758
Path: utzoo!hoptoad!uunet!oddjob!ncar!boulder!sunybcs!rutgers!labrea!decwrl!reid
From: reid@decwrl.dec.com (Brian Reid)
Newsgroups: alt.config,news.config
Subject: Re: Is my alt your alt?
Message-ID: <615@bacchus.DEC.COM>
Date: 19 Jul 88 05:31:45 GMT
References: <275@hal.UUCP> <9958@e.ms.uky.edu> <12060@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <1116@flatline.UUCP> <12143@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <25665@oliveb.olivetti.com>
Reply-To: reid@decwrl.UUCP (Brian Reid)
Distribution: alt
Organization: DEC Western Research
Lines: 19

In article <25665@oliveb.olivetti.com> jerry@olivey.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre) writes:
>Because the alt group does not have the general propagation that the
>normal groups do there is a good chance that an article posted in a
>particular sub group will not make it cross country to other sites.
>They may have readers reading that alt group and may pass it to their
>regional neighbors but that may be as far as it goes.

I've done this experiment a few times, and to the best of my ability to
measure, most alt groups are totally connected. The "fringe" alt groups like
alt.birthright are not totally connected, but all of the "ordinary" 
ones seem to be.

About half of the official backbone sites carry every alt group, and all but
3 of the backbone sites carry at least 1 alt group. Virtually every nntp site
carries alt groups. Also there is a pretty strong "alt backbone" in place
that John Gilmore and I built up before we announced the formation of the alt
network. In general it involves smaller machines that you haven't heard of,
but it is quite decidedly nationwide. We are a bit reluctant to call it a
backbone.