Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!think!mintaka!ogicse!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpfcso!hpldola!hp-lsd!oldcolo!dave
From: dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Online Information Resources
Message-ID: <[171.1]comp.misc;1@oldcolo.UUCP>
Date: 30 Jan 90 13:10:02 GMT
References: <1990Jan19.021018.6853@eddie.mit.edu>
Lines: 29

>I guess what I am really looking for is a listing that might be
>more comprehensive than is currently available, I am interested
>in BOTH bbs systems, and r/cpm systems, and r-unix(?) systems, and
>free (or reasonably priced) database resources, (library ties?),
>job info databases, whatever.
>
>If no generic pointer comes my way, eventually I will begin building
>such a resource for the net, but I would rather not re-invent the
>wheel if I can avoid it. Since if I build such a list, it will be
>all inclusive, (short of usenet/Internet listings), please just
>send what you have, and I'll begin the process. When I'm done,

Good luck. But beware. For every summary you write about what one
system offers, figure you will have to re-confirm (1)that the
system is still online (2)that it still offers what you said it
did a few months before and (3)it doesn't have some significant
new twist to it (fees, access methods, rules) about every 90
days for every system you survey.

The name of the game in the online public -access world is dynamic
change, with the rate of change increasing the smaller - and often
the most innovative - the system. If you are 66% accurate at any
point in time on any list of, say, 100 systems, you are lucky. 

Which is why I dial into systems to see what they have (versus
what they say they have, or what somebody else says they have)

Lets see, there are about 20,000 bbs's out there now, changing
completely at the rate of probably 50 a day....:-)