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From: ngg@bridge2.ESD.3Com.COM (Norman Goodger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Best Commercial BBS for Mac Programmers (WHICH?)
Message-ID: <655@bridge2.ESD.3Com.COM>
Date: 30 May 89 20:48:22 GMT
References: <8905252306.AA02845@jade.berkeley.edu> <31670@apple.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: ngg@bridge2.3Com.com (Norman Goodger)
Organization: 3Com Corp., Mt. View, CA
Lines: 44

In article <31670@apple.Apple.COM> chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
>
>o CompuServe: the biggest, almost to excess. Expensive, but if it exists for
>  the Mac, it's up there. With compuserve Navigator and some restraint, you
>  can definitely keep to a budget. Unless budget is your primary
>  requirement, I'd go with CI$.
>
>o GEnie: the next to biggest. It's not nearly as complete as CIS, especially
>  vendor support. It doesn't have as much software in the libraries,
>  although it's pretty complete. It's about half as expensive as CI$, but
>  the interface is horrible and a pain to use. Ugly. Offends the senses.
>
I have a tendancy to disagree with some of the above observations. While I
co-sysop on Genie and have a good familiarity with the system, I do not
agree with the assesment that Genie has an ugly interface when compared
with the significantly overpriced CI$.

Trying to use CI$ without the benefit of Navigator is a effort in frustration
just like using any new service where you are not familiar with the commands
or the interface. Genie is just as easy to use or navigate if you take the
time to learn the system. GEnie's software Libraries in my opinion are just as
complete if not better than CI$, you can at least initiate a search for
something in all libraries, something that cannot be done on CI$ without going
to another area to see if its there somewhere. CI$ has perpetual message scroll
whats posted today can be gone tomorrow unless the sysops decide that its a 
thread that they want to save for a while. Whereas Genie can save complete
threads for quite sometime..There are advantages and disadvantages to both
these methods...neither is perfect, but I feel that the Genie method is better
than CI$ is as much as your question and possible answers do not disappear
in a couple days time if the message traffic is high that week. As far as
vendor support, CI$ probably has an edge here, only due to being around
longer, currently Genie has support from Microsoft,SuperMac,Borland,Letraset,
and probably many others who support products on individual basis in the
Mac RT. 

The Bottom line however is, if you do not take the time to learn the
system, anything can be ugly no matter how simple it is...


-- 
Norm Goodger				SysOp - MacInfo BBS @415-795-8862
3Com Corp.				Co-SysOp FreeSoft RT - GEnie.
Enterprise Systems Division             (I disclaim anything and everything)
UUCP: {3comvax,auspex,sun}!bridge2!ngg  Internet: ngg@bridge2.ESD.3Com.COM