Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: notesfiles 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