🚀 go-pugleaf

On Tue, 27 Feb 90 17:07:00 CST Rick Kirkham said:
>    The second myth  is that the  Internet cannot provide  interactive
>messages. In  fact, it  can. And  many (most?)  Internet nodes  have a
>program, usually called PHONE or TALK, which allows conversations  be-
>tween users anywhere  in the country.  Moreover, unlike the  so-called
>"interactive" messages of NJE, these conversations are in real time.

As has been pointed out (I believe by John Wagner) the NJE messages are
pretty close to real time.  And they are created and received with
standard easy to use programs.  Part of the problem with interactive
messages in the Internet is pointed out by your message; you use a
program "usually" called PHONE "or" TALK.  Such programs have grown up
in the Unix world as far as I know.  They're not really defined standard
TCP/IP applications that are expected to be implemented in even the
quasi-consistent way of some of the other applications (such as FTP).
Besides which, personally, the asynchronous nature of NJE messages is very
helpful.  I can send a message, and go back to what I was doing.  And I can
be sent a message no matter what program I am/am not running.  This has helped
me provide "support" to people having problems with my site no matter where
they are.  Again, this is not to say that PHONE and TALK and company are not
valid ways of doing some interactive messaging.  They do not currently cover
all of the bases.

>    Finally, please note  that my assertion  was that all  Bitnet/UUCP
>services _can_ be duplicated in the Internet, not that all of them ac-
>tually are at the  moment. E.g. some Usenet  groups are not echoed  as
>Internet SIGs. But they perfectly well could be.
>
I think many of us realize that, and realized it from the start.  But let's be
clear on what others are saying.  There are no complaints about whether it is
possible to implement Bitnet's services in the Internet, but there is valid
concern about the fact that they are not there *now* and that noone is as yet
working on them as far as most of us can tell.  Until that happens and we all
get a chance to play with it there is a need fulfilled by Bitnet that is not
fulfilled anywhere else and hence the "death of Bitnet" is premature.

>Rick Kirkham


Dave Buechner
Lead IBM Systems Programmer
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA