rdm@hoptoad.uucp (Rich Morin) (11/05/86)
THIS IS NOT A FLAME!!! - but I do have a request to make. I regularly scan net.sources, looking for useful goodies. I find, all too often, postings of the following nature: > Subject: posting XXX arc file, if you want XXX - here it is!!! > > ... > > Here is a copy of XXX along with documentation. You must first > use the uudecode on it and then use "arc" (on your pc - this was > arc'd with version 5.2, the command should be "arc x filename) > to break it into it's components (XXX.com and XXX.doc). Good Luck. > > ... > > begin 644 XXX.arc > M&@-!4TU'14XN0T]-``34DB@``"8,C:V1/@`L``#\O``!H0(`C,LKP_;$\'0% > MN/__ZP2Q!-/@HX,H+9XN<@4]``%S!KK9)^GH`+J2`K@C)<TAOH$`Z`4-=0/I > ... I don't object to the twenty skedillion kinds of encoding that are being used; presumably there is a reason for them. The author is to be congratulated, in fact, for delineating all the necessary operations for decoding the message. I do think, however, that it would be useful to be able to find out what "XXX" is without performing the decoding operations, then (most likely) scanning through the decoded text looking for an illuminating comment. I therefore suggest that authors, somewhere near the top of the posting, explain the nature of their offering, as: XXX is the famous wysiwyg defrobulator written by elmer hack, of Chaotic State U. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate PostScript to anything at all. Still, it's very useful for varplefurtzing. The extra bandwidth required for this is small, compared to the typical net.sources posting. I suspect that the payoff (in reduced hassle and frustration, let alone increased usage of posted code) would be adequate. :-) -- Richard Morin, proprietor {hoptoad,leadsv,lll-lcc}!cfcl!rdm Canta Forda Computer Lab. +1 415 994 6860 Post Office Box 1488 Full spectrum consulting services Pacifica, CA 94044 USA for science and engineering.