🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <18DEC199210451163@rover.uchicago.edu>, frank@rover.uchicago.edu
(Frank - Hardware Hacker - Borger) writes:
>In article <lj24alINNrln@lisboa.cs.utexas.edu>, ctp@cs.utexas.edu (Clyde T.
>Poole) writes...
>
>>DECUS is made up of LOTS of different "kinds" of people.  Some of
>>those people like VAX Notes, some like All-In-One, some like e-mail
>>and some like USENET news.  The unfortunate part is that as far as I
>>know only a very few of the operating and administrative units of the
>>Society (U.S. Chapter) can agree to consistantly use any one of the
>>mediums as a way of communicating.  
>
>	BINGO Clyde hit the nail on the head. ('cept he left out a couple
>	of people I know who don't like any of the above.) You can't please
>	'em all. Example. Should an electronic version of the newsletter be:
>
>	A/ Posted to USENET
>	B/ A NOTES stream on DECUServe
>	C/ A NOTES stream on DCS
>	D/ E-mailed automagically to subscribers every month
>	E/ Available via anonymous FTP from DECUS.ORG

The answer is YES. All of the above, each to his own preference (and more as
time goes on, probably). Why not? Gateway the news and notes systems together,
and gateway them to a mailing list as well. Archive the groups automatically and
make the archives available via FTP. Using, for instance, MX as the archiver and
mailing list manager, the archives will even be available via mail response
server. All of this technology exists.

>	F/ (Insert your favorite suggestion here)

If the software is there and it will serve enough users to make it worth doing,
sure.

>	G/ (Repeat A-F above for each SIG in DECUS)

Just create another mailing list. MX and similar software makes this quite
simple. Create a new notes conference and newsgroup, and gateway it all
together.

This is not difficult.

>	Send that question out to 10 different DECUS members, and you will
>	get 11 replys back, each arguing why THEIR way is the ONLY way that
>	that member can truly take advantage of our product.

What is this fixation on the "One True Way"? Why does DECUS seem to feel that a
product or service should be delivered in exactly one way, and if someone
doesn't like it, tough?  This is just like the desktop wars. Just as there is no
one machine that will sit on everyone's desktop, there is no one true interface
to group-wide conferencing. And just as the industry is learning to deal with
making all these things work together anyway, DECUS should work on tying
together these different interfaces so that everyone can access the underlying
information and interact with one another. I prefer news. I don't care if you
read it in news, notes, or mail. It shouldn't matter to either of us.
--
Terry Poot <tp@mccall.com>                   The McCall Pattern Company
(uucp: ...!rutgers!depot!mccall!tp)          615 McCall Road
(800)255-2762, in KS (913)776-4041           Manhattan, KS 66502, USA