davea@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Dave Arns) (10/16/90)
This message was originally to Roger Long, who I believe is the moderator for
comp.binaries.mac, but my e-mail attempts apparently didn't get through.
Perhaps it would be better as an open letter, though; more people would be
able to comment on whether or not this is a good idea.
Net.everyone: What do you think?
------------------------- original letter follows ----------------------------
Roger,
My apologies if this is a second copy of this message; apparently my first
didn't get through.
The reason I was requesting your address on Usenet is this: a few weeks ago I
was thinking about the way that Mac binaries are distributed through
comp.binaries.mac, and I had a few questions/comments (by the way, I greatly
appreciate the service that comp.binaries.mac offers!).
My situation is this: I look through the comp.binaries.mac notes group most
weekdays, and check to see if there is anything that would be useful to me.
Some are, some aren't--that's to be expected. Sometimes though, I realize a
need for a particular program days or weeks after it has been removed from the
postings, or, because of fumblefingers on my part, I get two copies of Part 2
of something, and no copies of Part 3. When considering these things, I had a
few thoughts; I don't know if they would be possible or practical, but it
might be worth considering.
What do you think of this proposal:
o Set up an e-mail auto-respond program such that people could just mail
an electronic request to a particular address; the e-mail messages would
contain special text strings that identify available programs. The
requests might be of a form such as "REQUEST:DELUXECONVERT" (letter case
not being significant). The auto-respond mechanism would search (using
"grep"?) for valid strings such as this, and mail all the parts of a
multi-part, compressed, binhexed binary to the requestor.
o Every week or so, post a message to comp.sys.mac.misc that gives a list
of all the binaries that are available, a brief description, and the
identifier string that will be checked by the script in the auto-
responder. New additions could be listed first.
o If a requestor asked for a non-existent binary (either because of a
misspelling or because it has already been removed), the auto-responder
would send a mail message to that effect. The mail message could also
include a copy of Usenet posting of the available binaries. If this is
included, I can foresee people deliberately requesting a binary named
"FGXiwekSKGF", knowing that it won't be there, and therefore they
will get a current copy of the list of what's available.
I don't know whether the above scenario would work or be practical, but I
think it would be very useful for many people. It would be more of a "random
access" method, as opposed to the "serial access" of comp.binaries.mac. Once
it was set up, the actual shipping of the binaries would be zero extra work,
and because of the time savings there, maybe more binaries could be offered
(assuming disk space exists...). Also, people in charge of other archives
might set up a similar distribution method. This would be handy for people
like me because, working at Hewlett-Packard, our Internet connection is a
closed subnet (for security reasons), so I can't get to any of the apple.com
or sumex archives. But since e-mail works perfectly well, this would meet the
need of such folks.
If the above proposal is worth pursuing, I would be willing to be a alpha/beta
tester, so as to get the bugs out of the system before being inundated with
requests.
What do you think? Would it work?
Thanks,
Dave Arns
Usenet: davea@hpfcmgcf Post: Hewlett-Packard Company
(or) davea@hpfcla.hp.com Attn: Dave Arns MS46
HP-Desk: dave_arns%ux@hp4000 3404 E. Harmony Road
HP Telnet: 1-229-3882 Fort Collins, CO 80525-9599 USA
AT&T: 1-303-229-3882laird@chinet.chi.il.us (Laird J. Heal) (10/18/90)
[folks, this is one for the FAQs] In article <12240004@hpfcmgw.HP.COM> davea@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Dave Arns) writes: >This message was originally to Roger Long, who I believe is the moderator for >comp.binaries.mac, but my e-mail attempts apparently didn't get through. >Perhaps it would be better as an open letter, though; more people would be >able to comment on whether or not this is a good idea. >Net.everyone: What do you think? Poor Roger! that he should have to deal with such. Even this is not appropriate for your posting - rather, just read for a while! Every couple of weeks archive sites get mentioned. I mean to chide, but since I like typing, I'll respond. >Sometimes I need a particular program after it has been removed from the >postings or I get two copies of Part 2 and no copies of Part 3. >What do you think of this proposal: > o Set up an e-mail auto-respond program such that people could just mail > an electronic request to a particular address; the e-mail messages would > contain special text strings that identify available programs. There are some sites which archive comp.binaries.mac - maybe next year I'll do so too. Whenever I need a file I use LISTSERV@ricevm1.rice.edu. If I happen to be near my ftp account I chase down sumex instead. These are most but not all of what has been posted to comp.binaries.mac; uunet at least archives news. > > o Every week or so, post a message to comp.sys.mac.misc that gives a list > of all the binaries that are available, a brief description, and the > identifier string that will be checked by the script in the auto- > responder. New additions could be listed first. echo "help"|mail listserv@ricevm1.rice.edu for a list of how they have implemented the above. Come to think of it, there is another shadow of sumex at wuarchive. I noticed it last week because my brother administers a NeXT which has wuarchive nfs-mounted, the lucky dog. >What do you think? Would it work? Poor Roger! The kind of things to suggest to him are: what format the files should have (either self-extracting or Stuffit 1.5.1) and could responses get mailed suggesting when submittals will be distributed? Don't bother him with the need to put a few gigabyte-sized disks online somewhere. -- My .signature is on vacation ------------- like me!
pasek@npdiss1.StPaul.NCR.COM (Michael A. Pasek) (10/19/90)
In article <12240004@hpfcmgw.HP.COM> davea@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Dave Arns) writes: [text of message to Roger Long (c.b.m moderator) suggesting that Roger set up an archive of the c.b.m postings that can be accessed by mail requests] >Sometimes though, I realize a need for a particular program days or weeks >after it has been removed from the postings, or, because of fumblefingers Do as I do: It doesn't matter whether you think you'll need it....take it anyway. That way, if you decide "days or weeks" later that you need it, you'll have it. >What do you think of this proposal: > o Set up an e-mail auto-respond program such that people could just mail > an electronic request to a particular address; the e-mail messages would > contain special text strings that identify available programs. There are many mail servers that perform this function, although perhaps not ALL the c.b.m postings will be available through these services. If there is NOT a site that has all the c.b.m postings, I think it would be easier for all concerned (especially Roger) to expand the existing service(s) to include ALL the c.b.m material, rather than to ask Roger to set up an archive server. > o Every week or so, post a message to comp.sys.mac.misc that gives a list > of all the binaries that are available, a brief description, and the This would be nice, but I think the sheer size of such a list (for some of the servers) would be prohibitive. Perhaps a short "Archive Servers and How to Use Them" every couple of weeks (somewhat like the "Anonymous FTP LIST) would be helpful. I could also see a list of the most recent additions (last couple of months' worth) to an archive, along with a brief description, as being useful. > o If a requestor asked for a non-existent binary (either because of a > misspelling or because it has already been removed), the auto-responder > would send a mail message to that effect. I think the existing servers work this way. I can't speak with authority on these matters, since I've only sent one request to a server, and that was just to get a list of what was available. >I don't know whether the above scenario would work or be practical, but I >think it would be very useful for many people. It would be more of a "random >access" method, as opposed to the "serial access" of comp.binaries.mac. Once >it was set up, the actual shipping of the binaries would be zero extra work, >and because of the time savings there, maybe more binaries could be offered >(assuming disk space exists...). Also, people in charge of other archives >might set up a similar distribution method. This would be handy for people >like me because, working at Hewlett-Packard, our Internet connection is a >closed subnet (for security reasons), so I can't get to any of the apple.com >or sumex archives. But since e-mail works perfectly well, this would meet the >need of such folks. Although there may be some "time savings" (in the sense of HUMAN time), the machine usage would skyrocket, along with line costs (at least for Roger's phone!). Since you can't do FTP (we also have a "closed" subnet, but at least our gateway allows us to do FTP/Telnet out, but no one can do either coming in...), I suggest you try the server at Rice University (the only one I can think of off the top of my head). >If the above proposal is worth pursuing, I would be willing to be a alpha/beta >tester, so as to get the bugs out of the system before being inundated with >requests. >What do you think? Would it work? I think this proposal would be much more warmly received if YOU had offered to provide this "archive/mail server" :-) Sure, it would work, but I think you're asking the wrong person/organization to do it.... >Thanks, >Dave Arns You're welcome. M. A. Pasek Software Development NCR Comten, Inc. (612) 638-7668 MNI Development 2700 N. Snelling Ave. pasek@c10sd3.StPaul.NCR.COM Roseville, MN 55113