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From: essick@uiuccsb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: A Thought on Newsgroup Structure (lo - (nf)
Message-ID: <5248@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Jan-84 22:36:56 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.5248
Posted: Mon Jan 30 22:36:56 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 7-Feb-84 06:38:24 EST
Lines: 44

#R:druxt:-88400:uiuccsb:3400007:000:2187
uiuccsb!essick    Jan 29 13:06:00 1984

	I think that working on mechanisms to dynamically add and
delete newsgroups (or subgroups) is not the right way to solve
the problem of "there's not enough structure out here". Adding
and deleting newsgroups at this level (followup groups) is 
just another way to map two dimensions (newsgroups and the
discussions within them) into one dimension (even more newsgroups).
This works fine for Mr. A. Square in Flatland, but we're blessed
with being able to see a few more dimensions.  Why not develop
and use a tool that can handle two dimensions?
	At the University of Illinois, we've been using the notesfile
system for 2 years on Unix. Our PLATO system has been using the
notesfile concept for 8 years.  A notesfile contains a time-ordered
(by inception) list of discussions. Each discussion contains a 
base note and a time-ordered list of responses. You get commands
to skip around within a discussion, skip over the rest of boring
discussions plus the usual set of write a response and mail to
the author commands.
	Here are a few things that the notesfile system does that
the news system doesn't:
	@ skip the rest of a discussion
	@ easily see other articles in the same discussion
	@ index pages of discussions

	Notesfiles are handy for other things than reading about Wombats.
We use them for project logs, problem reports, and to help determine
policy.  The fact that we can quickly (one key) go back and see what 
the problem was when a solution comes around makes it very handy.
The archiving facilities are pretty extensive.  How does doing things
like "place all the discussions from this notesfile older than X days
and marked solved into an archive" and then being able to reference
the archive in the same way you reference the active notesfile sound?

	I've managed to get a little off track. I really want to
stress the fact that I think all these extended-newsgroup ideas
are just trying to squeeze two dimensions into one and that
it would be better to use a tool that understood about the extra
dimensions. Why do people prefer screen editors like vi to line
editors like ed?

-- Ray Essick, University of Illinois
-- ihnp4!uiucdcs!essick,  essick.uiuc@rand-relay