Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!luth!sunic!bmc!sys_ms From: Mats.Sundvall@bmc.uu.se Newsgroups: news.software.anu-news Subject: Re: RE: Information needed Message-ID: <2593.251dfab6@bmc.uu.se> Date: 25 Sep 89 09:15:18 GMT References: <8909212313.AA14866@uunet.uu.net> Organization: Biomedical Center, University of Uppsala, Sweden Lines: 55 In article <8909212313.AA14866@uunet.uu.net>, munnari!csc.anu.oz.au!gih900@UUNET.UU.NET (Geoff Huston) writes: > Rainer Fuchs writes:... > > > Firstly a few words about VAXnotes: VAXnotes is a centralized system. When a > user opens a VAXnotes conference on a local system the VAXnotes application > opens a DECnet connection to the nominated (single) server for that conference, > and all items are passed across the wires on demand to the reader. All postings > made into that conference are fed into the server for that conference. With > this model, when a read session is opened, then the reader is able to view all > postings made into that conference up to that point in time. This also make it similar to Usenet News in the sens that you hook up postings to a linear list that was sampled some time ago. All other users that may reply to the same item may or may not have your replies in their list. If they sampled the database BEFORE you updated the database they will not have them available. The only difference is the amount of time it will take until you get the "complete" reply list. > All postings as > replies are tacked onto the end of a linear reply list in time order. Is it possible to use the timestamp to order entries? If you assume that all nodes have a valid timestamp and a valid timezone header line you could use this to order entries. Sure DEC has to do something similar with postings into VAX Notes. I have never used VAX Notes but as you describe it they rebuild a tree into a linear list. The information you lose may not be that big in a small conferense but in a worldwide VAX Notes conference you would loose a lot. > The > problem with this model in the larger network environment is the absolute > reliance on the availability of the server and the availability of the network > to allow the live connection from the user to the server. > > > So in answer to the original question - no - NEWS is not going to do much more > than it does at present in the topic/reply area. If thats what you are after - > then buy VAXnotes! > > > Geoff Huston > gih900@csc.anu.oz.au I hope you are wrong. If Usenet News is going to survive it will have to evolve. This is one of the areas where it need improvements. -- Mats Sundvall Biomedical Center +46/18174583 University of Uppsala Mats.Sundvall@BMC.UU.SE Sweden psi%24020019700620::MATS