Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!dino!mehl
From: mehl@cs.iastate.edu (Mark M Mehl)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: Call For Discussion: comp.sys.mac reorganization
Message-ID: <709@dino.cs.iastate.edu>
Date: 27 Feb 90 06:58:35 GMT
References: <38768@apple.Apple.COM> <1990Feb21.001714.12110@umigw.miami.edu>
Sender: usenet@dino.cs.iastate.edu
Reply-To: mehl@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu
Organization: Dept of EE/CprE -- IOWA STATE UNIV
Lines: 33

jpb@umbio.miami.edu (Joe Block) writes:
>I . . . think that there should be a comp.sys.mac.virus though,
>because virus information is machine specific, and most of us who only use
                              ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^
You mean operating system specific.  This is true.
>Macs probably don't want to wade through postings about DOS and UNIX viruses
>to find out about the viruses that do concern us (I know I don't).

Right again.  The virus discussions should be posted to comp.sys.mac.os
(or comp.os.mac, which ever gets created) (with possible cross
postings to comp.virus) because they are OS specific.  Now many
people realize this already because virual-ware is a kind of cDEV
or INIT program that "is" to be discussed in comp.sys.mac.os;
however, many people do not.  Just saying that comp.sys.mac.os
includes discussions on cDEV and INITs isn't enough; the charter
for this OS group should spell out the word V.I.R.U.S. because many
non-computer people don't appreciate that virual issues are really
OS issues of a special kind.

There is nothing wrong with having a comp.virus group on Usenet;
however, people should really cross post to the corresponding OS
group in the comp.os.* hierarchy because that's really where the
virus discussions belong.  In fact, comp.virus should really be
renamed to comp.os.virus because viruses are always OS issues just as
they are OS specific.

Perhaps, someday, we will have to create a comp.os.mac.virus group
on Usenet, but let's hope not.
--
 /\ Mark M Mehl, alias Superticker (Supertickler to some)
<><> Internet: mehl@atanasoff.cs.IAstate.edu
 \/ UUCP: {{mailrus,umix}!sharkey,hplabs!hp-lsd,uunet}!atanasoff!mehl
Disclaimer: You got to be kidding; who would want to claim anything I said?