Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bbn!clsib21!blblbl!mipseast!rogerk
From: rogerk@mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: digesting info-vax
Message-ID: <362@mipseast.mips.COM>
Date: 28 May 88 19:16:34 GMT
References: <8804201644.AA17997@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> <2071@uoregon.uoregon.edu>
Reply-To: rogerk@mipseast.mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese)
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Inc., Burlington, MA
Lines: 26

In article <2071@uoregon.uoregon.edu> dboyes@drizzle.UUCP (David Boyes) writes:
>No. The point of digesting is to reduce the naieve, duplicate or just
>plain wrong answers.

*NO.* The point of MODERATING is to reduce the naieve, duplicate or just
plain wrong answers.

One thing has nothing to do with the other.  The moderator of a non-digest
list merely edits each message and sends the acceptable ones on to the
list, whose recipients can then decide which ones to read or discard by
subject, original poster, etc.
 
>Digesting a mailing list also makes putting the
>information into a database a LOT easier, as digests are usually
>edited into a standardized format and have most of the unnecessary
>header lines and delivery information removed.

...but it makes reading by an individual without a database or an
undigestifying tool ridiculous.  If you're so hot on writing a tool to
load a database, surely you can figure out how to deal with standard
headings, which to keep, which to discard, etc.
-- 
Roger B.A. Klorese                           MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
{ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!rogerk  25 Burlington Mall Rd, Suite 300
rogerk@mips.COM                                     Burlington, MA 01803
I don't think we're in toto any more, Kansas...          +1 617 270-0613