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