skl@van-bc.UUCP (Samuel Lam) (12/27/88)
In article <2516@ddsw1.MCS.COM>, bhv@ddsw1.UUCP (Bronis Vidugiris) wrote: ) I would like to see the direction of 'new' bbs's go not twoards the server ) client model so much as twoards a standard interchange format. This means ) that the user could use his 'favorite' bbs system at home, with windows, ) mice, or whatever - and his favorite full screen local text editor - ) all offline. Then, while online, messages to sent could be sent to the ) host system, and new messages (possibly with some 'standardized' approval ) system based on length, author, etc) could be downloaded. Hey, that's a good idea. As a matter of fact, that's also the vision that started the UUPC efforts about two years ago. (The only problem we have with UUPC is the lack of time to work on it.) ) I don't have any real concrete proposals - except that if something based ) on the standard usenet news format (...) could be made to work, it might ) be the best bet. Mainly because it is wide use already, and it seems to ) be pretty flexible (...). That's part of what UUPC was trying to provide -- a reliable and automated way to move spool files between Unix systems (the services hosts) and the micros's (the user hosts). Once the spool files containing news and mail get to your end, all sort of local programs can then be used to process them and deal with the material within. (Future versions of UUPC will concentrate on being a "transport" mechanism which applications on top of it can use, and leave the job of providing these "applications", like mail and news, to others who would like to work on them.) ) A 'server' approach might be nice to be able to do something in the foreground ) while stuff is downloading in the background. However, if the download stuff ) can be automated - requiring no human intervention - (...), I think it would > be both technically simpler, and better (...). ) ) This is especially true with phone rates going up and local call areas going ) down, (as is happening here in Chicago, at least). Right on. It also elminates the need for a second phone line just for the computer, since most of the time when you are dealing with the news/mail you wouldn't even be on line anyways. -- Samuel Lam {alberta,watmath,uw-beaver,cs.ubc.ca}!ubc-cs!van-bc!skl