charles@utastro.UUCP (Charles Sandel) (08/18/84)
Since I am responsible for getting the Stardate scripts
posted to the net (although I have nothing to do with actually
producing it), let me discuss a couple of relevant topics:
There have been several requests from readers
that we post them in advance so that they receive them on
or before the actual air date of the script. This presents
a couple of problems:
1) There is no way (due to propagation delays between USENET sites)
for every site to receive the scripts on the exact air date. Posting
the scripts far enough in advance so that every site
would receive them at least by the air date would mean that
sites near to us would receive them up to several days prior
to the air date and would lose their timeliness for these folks.
2) The scripts are actually posted by a shell script that runs once
each night. Teaching the shell script how to post articles
X number of days in advance is a problem I don't really have time
to tackle right now.
3) It is not clear that it is desirable (from the radio show's point
of view) to pre-post the scripts. After all, if you've already
read the script, why listen to the show? If this happens, the
listening audience will drop and the support for the radio show
will go away - and with it will go the scripts posted to the net,
not to mention the jobs of the people who produce it.
The most serious drawback is #3. Please remember that we are posting
Stardate only as an interesting service to the net.
In fact, there is some reasonable
discension here at McDonald as to the wisdom of doing so.
If at any point the net postings
become a detriment to the radio show, the postings will stop immediately.
I support the postings, but I refuse to let them jeopardize the future
of Stardate.
There has been some misunderstanding about what Stardate is and why
it is being posted to the net. Shortly (I hope), we will have a blurb
that explains Stardate's presense and describes what it is.
Maybe we can also post a list of radio stations carrying the program.
Since the scripts are posted regularly and since new
subscribers are always signing up, the blurb will also
be posted regularly, so that new subscribers won't be left
completely in the dark. I think probably once
a month or every-other month will be sufficient.
The subject on the blurb will be clear so that if
you've already read it, you can exercise your 'n' key.
Lastly, I'd like to add my thanks to Debbies (dipper)
for all the favorable comments from the net about Stardate.
--
*>> Charles Sandel <<*
uucp: {ut-sally, ut-ngp, noao, charm}!utastro!charles
arpa: charles@utastro.UTEXAS.ARPA charles@ut-sally.UTEXAS.ARPA
at&t: (512) 471-4461 x439ayers@convex.UUCP (08/22/84)
#R:utastro:-40600:convex:54100002:000:502 convex!ayers Aug 22 07:37:00 1984 [Please, sir -- can I have some more?] Please forgive my lack of information, but as I can't find any Dallas station that carries Stardate, and I can't find it anywhere on our net -- what're we discussing here????? Any information would be greatly appreciated -- I'd like to read/hear this program (I think)... (Oh, by the way -- the reason I'm posting this is that my mail to this author came back.) blues, II (I am not a friend, but rather the stranger your mother warned you about...)