info-mac@uw-beaver (01/18/85)
From: John Mark Agosta <INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA> For the many who rely on info-mac as a source of compuserve, etc. software, rest assured that we will continue to re-post downloads of software we find on various sources. My mail has run about 20 to zilch in favor of us casting as wide a "net" for freeware as possible. This community should keep in mind that the arpa net, as a free resource to users will be used until constriants on resources, such as host software, maintainer's efforts, etc limit it. Lets give some thought to how this effort can be streamlined. Many people suggested that archiving software for a few months would be sufficient. Also it was suggested that before old archives be deleted I give about a month's warning. Of course there are several utilities that should remain posted indefinately. These points are all well taken. Here are some other ideas: Info-mac was set up largely to aid Consortium software development, and postings should by and large be selected for this purpose. There's room for people to take initiative to extend the services that info-mac provides. Sproul's Font disk set a good example. So did info-mac-forth@harvard. We could probably use an "ultimate archive". On a related thought, does Apple have plans to distribute COnsortium software over a network that they would set up? Thoughtful suggestions along these lines are welcome. -jma -------