[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] Omega?

tomr@dbase.A-T.COM (Tom Rombouts) (02/12/91)

In article <1991Feb7.050344.20727@agate.berkeley.edu> raymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) writes:
>In article <WJ!-VDA@irie.ais.org>, jwisdom@ais (Joseph Wisdom) writes:
>>Are there any PC versions of the game Omega?  And, if so, where
>>could they be obtained from?  
>
>Not only are you in the wrong newsgroup (comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d is for
>discussing the binaries that were posted to comp.binaries.ibm.pc), but
>you obviously didn't read the monthly Frequently Asked Questions file.

As much as I would hate to disagree with the hard-working moderators,
I think c.b.i.p.d _should_ be open to general inquiries such as the
above Omega question.  Due to historical reasons, The Net seems to be
dominated by Un*x oriented topics.  As such, it seems a shame that 
any MS-DOS specific islands such as c.b.i.p or c.b.i.p.d should have
such restrictions.  Furthermore, there seems to be an assumption that
postings here are for a core of readers who actively follow every
post to c.b.i.p.  I think a more realistic model is that there are 
many people who never read c.b.i.p., but suddenly realize they need
a specific shareware or pubdom utility.  Since most such major MS-DOS
items seem to get posted here, c.b.i.p.d. would seem a reasonable
place to post such a question, especially for sites (such as ours)
that have no FTP access and are still hunting blindly for more
mail server sites.  (Due in part to sys admin's who seem to view
access to USENET as "play" that detracts from "work", IMO)

>Sending the message `lookup /omega/i' to the comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc mail
>server would have told you:

What is the USENET address for such a server?

>Programs on grape.ecs.clarkson.edu as of 90-04-23 matching your search criterion:
>
>Directory /E/GAMES
>OMEGA.ZIP     No title

O.K., fine.  Tell us more about such mail server sites.  I am now able
to access the SIMTEL archives via VM1.NoDak.EDU  (or another one at RPI)
but still have _no_ mail access to either c.b.i.p archives or the
various comp.sources archives.  As much as I love The Net, figuring out
how to use it often seems exactly analagous to a text based adventure
game.  If you don't have the $50 book "The Matrix" you fumble around
by trial and error slowly learning more as you go along, often passing
along tips to fellow users.  Before I ramble on more, I guess my main
point is that common mail server sites for other items should also be
included in the c.b.i.p. FAQ file.  (Such as the grape.ecs.clarkson.edu
site referenced above.)  Yes, it would bloat the FAQ somewhat, but it
might also reduce the amount of "inapporpriate" postings here, such
as this one.

Sorry for my bandwidth, but I suspect my concerns are shared by others.
(Especially for those, like myself, who are attempting to master The
Net alone and with little support or encouragement from the local
site Masters.)  I don't mean to be critical of the excellent material
that is posted here, nor of the hard work by the many people behind the 
scenes.


Tom Rombouts  Torrance 'Tater  tomr@ashtate.A-T.com  V:(213)538-7108

ron@motmpl.UUCP (Ron Widell) (02/20/91)

Raymond Chen (raymond@math.berkeley.edu) writes:
> In article <WJ!-VDA@irie.ais.org>, jwisdom@ais (Joseph Wisdom) writes:
> >Are there any PC versions of the game Omega?  And, if so, where
> >could they be obtained from?  
> 
> Not only are you in the wrong newsgroup (comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d is for
> discussing the binaries that were posted to comp.binaries.ibm.pc), but

While I rarely find occasion to disagree with Raymond Chen, whose FAQ postings
are a valuable service, this is one of those cases. Raymond's assertion that
Joseph is in the wrong newsgroup is belied by the rationale he uses (this group
is for discussion of postings to comp.binaries.ibm.pc), since a version of
Omega for the PC *WAS* posted to comp.binaries.ibm.pc (albeit almost two years
ago). The following is the result of 'zoo VC' on the two zoo archives posted
to c.b.i.p in May '89:

Archive a:pcom_bin.zoo:
Length    CF  Size Now  Date      Time
--------  --- --------  --------- --------
  581324  39%   353839   9 May 89 00:55:00 7fe9   omega.exe
--------  --- --------  --------- --------
  581324  39%   353839     1 file

Archive a:pcom_fil.zoo:
Length    CF  Size Now  Date      Time
--------  --- --------  --------- --------
    3793  42%     2202   6 May 89 01:29:34 8c9d   doscomp.txt
    3550  41%     2093   6 May 89 01:29:34 608c   dosread.me
    2230  51%     1091   8 May 89 16:55:44 74d7   manifest.dos
    1106  86%      152   6 May 89 01:29:36 3cd8   oabyss.dat
    1314  35%      858   6 May 89 01:29:36 33b8   oabyss.txt
    1068  88%      124   6 May 89 01:29:36 d3cd   oarena.dat
    1041  79%      222   6 May 89 01:29:38 1902   ocircle.dat
    4162  78%      920   6 May 89 01:29:38 7ac0   ocity.dat
    4207  78%      928   6 May 89 01:29:38 e72a   ocountry.dat
    1625  89%      178   6 May 89 01:29:40 8a82   ocourt.dat
    1041  81%      198   6 May 89 01:29:40 1838   odlair.dat
    3288  41%     1931   6 May 89 01:29:44 76e0   ohelp1.txt
    1085  30%      755   6 May 89 01:29:44 18cf   ohelp10.txt
     803  25%      603   6 May 89 01:29:44 4353   ohelp11.txt
    4522  62%     1714   6 May 89 01:29:44 5d16   ohelp12.txt
    1652  62%      632   6 May 89 01:29:44 e45d   ohelp13.txt
    3786  41%     2220   6 May 89 01:29:44 bc01   ohelp2.txt
    5156  46%     2779   6 May 89 01:29:44 7e58   ohelp3.txt
     851  30%      597   6 May 89 01:29:44 2021   ohelp4.txt
    4670  43%     2650   6 May 89 01:29:44 45b9   ohelp5.txt
     618  27%      451   6 May 89 01:29:44 3110   ohelp6.txt
     725  28%      525   6 May 89 01:29:44 039b   ohelp7.txt
    2033  38%     1269   6 May 89 01:29:44 6492   ohelp8.txt
    4139  42%     2407   6 May 89 01:29:44 43d6   ohelp9.txt
    1041  79%      221   6 May 89 01:29:44 a78b   ohome1.dat
     976  72%      275   6 May 89 01:29:46 5b68   ohome2.dat
    1041  85%      151   6 May 89 01:29:46 7a67   ohome3.dat
    1787  33%     1194   6 May 89 01:29:46 f407   ointro.txt
    1872  34%     1232   6 May 89 01:29:48 6769   olicense.txt
     287  64%      102   6 May 89 01:29:48 c7e1   omaze1.dat
     287  68%       92   6 May 89 01:29:48 d4f4   omaze2.dat
     287  63%      107   6 May 89 01:29:48 4423   omaze3.dat
     287  64%      104   6 May 89 01:29:48 cfa2   omaze4.dat
    1868  31%     1287   6 May 89 01:29:48 086a   omega.ad
     275  25%      206   6 May 89 01:29:50 bc41   omega.hi
     596  54%      272   6 May 89 01:29:50 197d   omega.log
     283  29%      201   6 May 89 01:29:50 0b19   omegahi.bak
    1041  79%      221   6 May 89 01:29:50 4b16   omisle.dat
     468  47%      247   6 May 89 01:29:56 3ae0   omotd.txt
    2291  40%     1368   6 May 89 01:30:02 8638   oscroll1.txt
    1662  34%     1095   6 May 89 01:30:02 8c9d   oscroll2.txt
    1913  35%     1239   6 May 89 01:30:04 7b59   oscroll3.txt
    1354  35%      876   6 May 89 01:30:04 f021   oscroll4.txt
    1041  75%      261   6 May 89 01:30:04 1fa5   ospeak.dat
    1041  79%      221   6 May 89 01:30:06 085c   otemple.dat
     364  21%      286   6 May 89 01:30:06 9f70   othanks.txt
    1377  35%      901   6 May 89 01:30:06 ec09   oupdate.txt
    1040  72%      291   6 May 89 01:30:08 ddf8   ovillag1.dat
    1040  70%      310   6 May 89 01:30:08 c227   ovillag2.dat
    1040  74%      275   6 May 89 01:30:08 8b81   ovillag3.dat
    1047  76%      256   6 May 89 01:30:08 75ad   ovillag4.dat
    1050  77%      246   6 May 89 01:30:08 2fc2   ovillag5.dat
    1040  70%      307   6 May 89 01:30:08 09d9   ovillag6.dat
     532  23%      407   6 May 89 01:29:34 7438   readme
    2458  37%     1547   6 May 89 01:29:34 5caa   readme2
    9280  44%     5188   6 May 89 01:29:34 e186   readme3
    1775  35%     1148   6 May 89 01:29:34 9811   readme4
--------  --- --------  --------- --------
  102206  51%    49633    57 files

Thus, if there is an archive site for postings to c.b.i.p, these two files will
be found there.

Regards,
-- 
Ron Widell, Field Applications Eng.	|UUCP: {...}mcdchg!motmpl!ron
Motorola Semiconductor Products, Inc.,	|Voice:(612)941-6800
9600 W. 76th St., Suite G		| I'm from Silicon Tundra,
Eden Prairie, Mn. 55344 -3718		| what could I know?