Re: mail group

• To: netcdfgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
• Subject: Re: mail group
• From: montnaro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Skip Montanaro)
• Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 10:13:44 EDT

Lloyd Treinish commented:

   Granted that may be more work for the Unidata folks...

Russ Rew has been silent on this subject so far. Perhaps he's waiting for
the dust to settle, but I would imagine in part he's cringing in a corner at
the thought of taking on more list maintenance woes. (I can hear Russ
saying, "Why, oh why, did I ever get into this computer racket, anyway?")

Let me point out a pitfall or two, before everyone gives the Unidata people
new job descriptions:

    1. Digestification of the netCDF will add some work to somebody's day
       (or night).  Digests can be built automatically, but should be
       checked over, however briefly, by a human before being sent out.

    2. Creation of a Usenet newsgroup will be even more work. There is the
       rather drawn-out newsgroup formation process, deciding on and
       justifying the name of the group and its charter, patiently
       responding to porrly thought out attacks on your proposed group's
       charter, etc. Once you get a newsgroup (any newsgroup), someone will
       ask about a gateway between the mailing list and the newsgroup, and
       you'll have a whole 'nuther series of battles to wage - with mailing
       list people who don't want the noise from the newsgroup, with
       newsgroup people who can't understand why their threaded newsreader
       doesn't cope with threads that run back and forth between the
       newsgroup and mailing list, etc.

    3. If you do both digests and newsgroups and gateway them, someone
       better cull the noise from the digest that appears from the
       newsgroup. Oops, digest management costs just increased.

That said, the plus side of 1) is that people like Steve Jardin who are
swamped with the current number of messages may be able to cope with a
single digest per day. The plus side of 2) is that a lot more people might
learn about netCDF. (That may also be on the downside, especially if you're
an already overworked Unidata trooper.) 3) gives you the best and worst of
both 1) and 2), perhaps in spades.

My original proposal was to create a digest. (I really mean compendium - all
a day's messages folded into one large mail message.) I am willing to take
on the responsibilities outlined in 1) if the Unidata folks either don't
have the time, or don't want to mess with the extra overhead. Some
coordination will be required, but it shouldn't be too much. Ooh! Maybe I
can wangle a trip to Colorado out of it!!! :-)

Skip (montanaro@xxxxxxxxxx)