wtwolfe@hubcap.UUCP (Bill Wolfe) (03/15/89)
Based on advice from various net-knowledgeable sources, I have decided
to initiate the newsgroup conversion process for the comp.sw.components
mailing list. The mailing list contains 104 members, some of which
(e.g., local-sw-components@machine) correspond to more than one user.
The following is a description of the scope of the newsgroup, which
has been taken from the mailing list's Welcome message:
$ This newsgroup will facilitate discussions about software components
$ and their design, implementation, and utilization. It is probable that
$ this will be mainly a group of professional component developers, people
$ who are training to become such a professional, and/or people who have an
$ interest in developing their own components from time to time.
$
$ As a "public service", we are also here to help and advise all component
$ users who need advice, and to provide a forum for reviewing the software
$ components provided by vendors. We are also here to allow the people who
$ developed any products which are criticized to show why perhaps the
$ criticism may not be entirely justified, or to seek ideas regarding how
$ the component(s) could be improved, and to provide a means by which new
$ techniques can be spread throughout the component development community.
$
$ Also, questions such as "How can I handle problem X which arises when I
$ try to implement component Y in language Z?" and "I have a nifty priority
$ queue, and would like a B+ tree; anyone wanna trade?" are encouraged.
Based upon the best procedural information available, the conversion
process will operate as follows:
1) There will be 30 days of discussion. This article formally
calls for such a discussion, and has been posted to comp.lang.ada,
comp.software-eng, and news.groups, and has also been distributed
to the comp.sw.components mailing list. The discussion period will
terminate on Friday, April 14, 1989.
2) A call for votes will occur on Friday, April 14, 1988. Its
distribution will be the same as the distribution of this
call for discussion. E-mailed votes will be collected
and counted until Sunday, May 14, 1989. The call for votes
may be repeated up to three times during the voting period.
3) The votes will be counted on Monday, May 15, 1989. A summary
of YES and NO voters will be posted with the same distribution
as the calls for discussion and voting. Unless the results
do not give the YES votes at least a 100-vote margin of victory,
a request for newsgroup creation will then be sent to Gene Spafford.
The discussion will cover the scope of the proposed newsgroup, the voting
procedure, the name of the newsgroup, and the pros and cons of creating it.
Bill Wolfe, wtwolfe@hubcap.clemson.edu
comp.sw.components Mailing List administrator