From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!esquire!brl-bmd!wmartin Newsgroups: net.micro Title: Re: Digest format Article-I.D.: brl-bmd.317 Posted: Thu Aug 12 15:33:51 1982 Received: Tue Aug 17 06:21:04 1982 References: sri-unix.2515 watmath.3238 There is a rather simple solution to this USENET vs. ARPANET single-message vs. digest debate. Try the route followed by the ARPANET SPACE digest, which is fed by the USENET net.space and net.columbia newsgroups. The USENET newsgroups have their normal single separate messages, read through Readnews or other mechanisms on UNIX hosts. These are gatewayed through some mechanism (I am not familiar with the details of this particular process) to become submissions to the SPACE Digest on the ARPANET. This digest is constructed automatically, with no necessity for constant moderator intervention. The software collects all submitted messages, copies their subject lines to become part of the digest header, numbers and dates the header, and mails out the digest each night. (If no messages are submitted, no digest is sent out.) If some ARPANET people want separate messages instead of the single digest, the same mechanism used for the WORKS mailing list can be utilized -- there are two distinct mailing lists of addressees. One list gets the digest. The other list gets immediate redistribution of individual messages. There is minimal extra workload on a list maintainer with this scheme -- he just has two files instead of one. With this setup, then, USENET people can see the individual messages like they always have, and ARPANET people can either get a daily digest or individual messages as they request. There is minimal workload on the list maintainer, as the software does the digestification. All things to all men... Will Martin USArmy DARCOM ALMSA