mark@stargate.UUCP (04/02/87)
Now that April Fools is about over, there have been several messages posted. Since it's clear that some people took the postings seriously, a scorecard seems to be in order. The first message warning about April Fools was legitimate. It came from Arthur Olson, but due to my own error in posting it, it had my name in the header. The second message, saying the first message was an April Fools, was posted unapproved. If Mikel hadn't forged my signature, all would have been well. (Of course, what probably happened is somebody forged Mikel's attempt to forge my signature!) The third message, rescending the newsgroup renaming, was a slick piece of art by an April Fool. The tipoff to the old-timers was that it came from cbosdg.UUCP (note the reversed letters) instead of cbosgd.ATT.COM or Stargate.COM. I got several messages today congratulating me on a nice joke! However, I cannot take the credit. To set the record straight: the renaming of the unmoderated groups, while not completely without controversy, has been well received by the net, according to the feedback we've gotten. When the completion of that part was announced at Usenix by Rick Adams, the sudden round of applause was both unexpected and appreciated. A show of hands indicated they were also strongly in favor of renaming the moderated groups, as are the moderators. There are a few technical problems to resolve before the moderated groups can be renamed, but these problems appear to be nearly solved. It is likely that an announcement of renaming of the moderated groups into the new name space will be made soon. Mark