🚀 go-pugleaf

From article <930111.063449.2O7.rusnews.w164w@alpha3.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca>, by russell@alpha3.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Russell Schulz):
> 
>   - how can I have waffle handle QWK news for my users
>
> the facts are:
> 
>   your users don't want to use waffle, which is fine.  some of them
>   don't have DOS machines.  some of them don't have disk space.  this
>   is no problem.  of course, your users don't have a divine right to
>   read news offline, either.  if someone doesn't understand this,
>   there will be a problem, definitely.
> 
>   for news QWK as it stands just can't handle it.

Nonsense.  QWK isn't ideal by any means but it's servicable as an 
offline reader format (even with nothing more than the much maligned 
Wafmail as a QWK door).  QWK is adequate for those who are interested 
in using it.  With a few bug fixes there really wouldn't be much to 
complain about, certainly not from the level of user who is interested 
in using it. 

Obviously the notion of the sacred bytes of USENET being swaddled in a
BIFF0ID BBS hack like QWK is more than some folks can handle.  Sorry
folks, it's here, it works, and no amount of waving your arms about
saying it doesn't work is going to make it go away.  

Of course, beyond the Not Invented Here Syndrome, we also have the
folks who doubt whether anyone who doesn't have the resources or
interest to set up their own USENET site really deserves to be 
allowed access to the sacred Net to begin with.  Get used to it folks.
No matter how firmly Waffle, Waffle admins and USENET nerds in general
stand against making USENET more accessable to the unwashed masses, it
is coming.

> also, mention Rhys' planned Helldiver packet format stuff, which
> includes QWK as an optional subset.

When Rhys door becomes available I'll make it available to my users.
My guess is that until Helldiver will read QWK packets, not many users
will bother with it, they'll keep using Wafmail and work around it's
ortcomings.

"Don't drive too slowly."                 Richard Caldwell
                                          AT&T Network Systems
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