🚀 go-pugleaf

With the discussion about win3-l vs comp.windows.ms, some questions about
bit.* were asked.  Here's my stab at answering them.  Followups are set
to bit.admin, since it doesn't particularly affect the "big seven" news
hierarchies.

Bit.* is an alternate hierarchy of newsgroups carried over the Usenet
news transport system.  The bit.* newsgroups started out as bitnet
mailing lists, independent of usenet newsgroups and internet mailing
lists.  For sites that carry bit.* (and there are over four hundred,
most of them NOT on bitnet, that receive at least some bit newsgroups)
they have the same advantage of receiving one copy of an article per
site.  It's similar to using the 'inet' distribution for a newsgroup/
mailing list gateway in the 'big seven' hierarchy.

Since the mailing lists developed separately from the newsgroups, there's
some redundancy.  For example, cems-l@vm.marist.edu mailing list and
misc.emerg-services newsgroups are fairly close in purpose (they were
recently merged, in fact).  There are also some cases where a bit.* news-
group is carrying a bitnet redistribution of an internet mailing list,
which itself is a digest of usenet articles (these need to be cleaned up).

The PSU NetNews software has bidirectional gateway capability with LISTSERV
mailing lists built-in.  Presently, most bit.* newsgroups enter the usenet
distribution via NETNEWS@psuvm.psu.edu, although there are other sites
doing global or local gateways.  (An aside - PSU NetNews for VM is
maintained by Linda Littleton, lrl@psuvm.psu.edu.  The LISTSERV mailing
list software is maintained by Eric Thomas, eric@searn.sunet.se).

The guidelines for creating a bit.* newsgroup, or gatewaying a LISTSERV
mailing list into the traditional hierarchy, were recently posted to
bit.admin.  In short, if the list-owner (not a moderator, but the person
that has control over list subscriptions), the mailing list participants,
and the newsgroup participants (if it's an existing newsgroup) all agree,
and its discussed in bit.admin, the gateway is established.

Jim McIntosh (jim@auvm.auvm.edu) explained why bit.listserv.win3-l
wasn't merged with comp.windows.ms - both are high-volume, and joining
the two would probably overpower the mailing list (LISTSERV is quite
able to handle the volume, since it uses relayed/peered article distrib-
ution to spread the load, but the mail readers would have been swamped).

Here's a few more reasons why a newsgroup exists in bit.* rather than
being merged with the traditional hierarchy of newsgroups.

1. Significant difference in purpose or charter (bit.listserv.hellas
   and and soc.culture.greek).
2. Moderated vs unmoderated forum (soc.religion.christian vs bit.listserv.
   christia).
3. The list-owner doesn't understand usenet, so they would rather say
   'no' than take a chance of 'fouling up' the list.
4. 'Culture shock'.  With a few exceptions, the listserv mailing lists
   don't have nearly the flame-war incidents that some usenet newsgroups
   have (one bit. newsgroup carries a mailing list that was specifically
   started to get out of the flame wars in its usenet counterpart).  In
   addition, you have two generally-independent groups of joined together
   in a common discussion, and there's some time involved in 'figuring
   the newcomers out' on both sides.
5. Only applies to bitnet.  Bit.listserv.nodmgt-l or rscsv2-l, for example.

I hope this helps to clear up any misunderstandings and questions (or
at least doesn't muddy the waters further).  Hopefully, if I've made
any mistakes, someone will correct me.  Perhaps this should be a periodic
posting to bit.admin ?


Doug
--
Doug Sewell, Tech Support, Computer Center,         doug@ysub.bitnet
Youngstown State University, Youngstown,  OH 44555  doug@ysub.ysu.edu
You are hereby sentenced to life at 300 baud.