farren@hoptoad.UUCP (04/10/87)
This will be the last thing I post about this controversy. My mind is made
up; the only thing left to do is to let you know my thinking, so you can
make up your own minds.
First, I reiterate my previous posting: by my tests, ARCing files first,
then uuencoding them, results in substantial losses in efficiency when
compress is used in news transmission. Therefore, I recommend posting
the simple uuencoded binaries, perhaps shared with other files, in lieu
of posting uuencoded ARC files.
Second, I received a lot of comments to the effect of: yes, but all sites
do not use compress. This is true, but in those cases, the site has made
its own choice as to the tradeoff between communications time/costs and
CPU time/costs. They are free to change their minds at any time. If they
do not, then one must presume that they are aware of the cost; that they
are willing to assume the costs in money and time of transmitting larger
files than is strictly necessary. The argument also cuts the other way:
by ARCing files, you are increasing the costs of all of the sites that DO
compress news (a majority, I believe).
I am convinced (and I don't change my mind easily, believe me!) that my
old stance, that files should be ARCed, is wrong. I will personally act
on this; you are free to do as you will.
--
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"... if the church put in half the time on covetousness
Mike Farren that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..."
hoptoad!farren Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Days"