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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hp-pcd!hp-dcd!donn
From: donn@hp-dcd.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: Re: restructuring and idea for group
Message-ID: <18900003@hp-dcd.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 9-Jun-84 13:34:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hp-dcd.18900003
Posted: Sat Jun  9 13:34:00 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jun-84 03:54:33 EDT
References: <2846@alice.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division - Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 38
Nf-ID: #R:alice:-284600:hp-dcd:18900003:000:1507
Nf-From: hp-dcd!donn    Jun 13 09:34:00 1984

This is slightly Machiavellian(sp??), but...

   The bait:

	Create a new version of news (3.0) with some feature that
	no-one (absolutely no-one) can do without.

   The trap:

	Add to it the ability to respond to .ctl messages that change
	a group name, and the concept of "symbolic links" to groups,
	such that, e.g. net.trivia and net.games.trivia are the same
	group.  (A warning is generated if the old name is used.)

	This should be done so that if a message is recieved (as opposed
	to posted) in the "old" group, it ends up in the "new" one, thus
	even if an individual site does it wrong, the backbone sites
	will fix it.

	These two features should make it possible to restructure at
	will, and kills, once and for all, the problem with certain
	groups refusing to die, no matter how many times you kill them.

As for the bait, the best one I can think of (howls of anguish in the
background) is to incompatibly change the headers.  (Flames on this 
item to /dev/null, please; I know it won't work for political reasons.)
Anyone got a better suggestion for bait?

Actually, if a version of news had the above features, and was widely enough
distributed, the name translation would propigate to the other sites, anyway.

The real problem is the "who will do it" problem.  If it looks like a reality,
I'd probably do it for notes (since I prefer it).  I don't care to volunteer 
for news, however.  (At times, ignorance is a blessing.)

Donn Terry
Hewlett-Packard, Ft. Collins.
hplabs!hp-dcd!donn