From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npois!cbosgd!mark
Newsgroups: net.followup
Title: Re: mush heads unite -- what good is net.test anyway?
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2419
Posted: Tue Jun 29 12:33:16 1982
Received: Wed Jun 30 01:27:38 1982
References: utzoo.2215

The official policy on test messages is as follows:

A site needing a test should feel free to post a test message to an
appropriate test newsgroup.  They should use the smallest scope
test newsgroup that fits their needs.  Usually this means "test",
which is local to a particular machine.   If network distribution
needs to be checked, you can use to.foovax (where foovax is one of
your immediate neighbors) or, if that won't work, xx.test, where
xx is the smallest containing newgroup class.  (For example, here
we have newsgroup classes local, osg, cb, btl, bell, and net, in
increasing size.  I usually use osg for testing.)  Only if there is
nothing smaller, and if a to.something newsgroup won't do, or if
you REALLY NEED to know if your article is getting to the WHOLE NET,
should you post to net.test.

In the previous message, I also said that the body of the message
should say why the test is being conducted.  I have since discovered
that the first n-1 tests don't work, and you get sick of typing in
the same message over and over, so you type "asjfklfd" as a body.
When it finally does work (and you are shocked and surprised) the
message has already gone out.  I recommend that you put the body
in a file, and run
	inews -t test of new version -n net.test < file
for the tests - with csh or the history shell, it's easy to repeat
these commands.  When you do this, please make the subject also
somehow meaningful.

If there are 2 test messages each night, out of 100 total articles,
and if the articles are batched in groups of, say, 15, then the
real costs (making and closing down the phone call) are shared over
the batch.  Also, your phone cost is rounded up to the next higher
minute.  So if the 1 test message in a batch takes 5 seconds to transmit
(it really probably takes less, unless your machine is heavily loaded)
it will increase the phone charge by one minute 1 out of every 20 calls.
Surely this is insignificant.  On the other hand, if decvax calls you
on demand, causing a separate phone call for every message, you'll get
9 zillion 1 minute phone calls.  This can add up.

Finally, each user and each site can easily unsubscribe to net.test.
If your site doesn't want it, tell your neighbor not to forward it.
If you, as a user, don't want to see it, just unsubscribe.

Now, with all these guidelines in existence, let me point out that
test messages are essential, and that if we didn't have net.test,
people would post their test messages to net.general.  We all know
how horrible that would be!

	Mark