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From: essick@uiuccsb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: A Thought on Newsgroup Structure (lo - (nf)
Message-ID: <5397@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 5-Feb-84 22:32:05 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.5397
Posted: Sun Feb  5 22:32:05 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 05:18:55 EST
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#R:druxt:-88400:uiuccsb:3400008:000:1146
uiuccsb!essick    Feb  5 13:43:00 1984

To answer a few questions ...

re: How often is the notesfile followup mechanism subverted?
	About a dozen times over the last two years for
articles generated at UIUC or the notesfile sites we
feed (total about 12 USENET nodes).
	I think part is that people tend to respond immediately.
Part of it is also that it is easy to get back to a note
you want to respond to.

re: orphan stuff
	The notes code doesn't propogate the foster parent. The
foster parent is used only as a placeholder until the true father
arrives.  Sometimes he never makes it.
	In the notes transfer format, only the base note carries
the title to a discussion. This is why we have the "Orphaned Response"
title.  The parent fills in the correct title when he gets there.

re: interfaces
	PLATO sneaks by with a single interface because all the
terminals are identical.  I designed the Unix version for
CRT's running at least 1200 baud.  No wonder 300 baud hard copy
users don't like it. The "erase-abort" code that is in place now
will flush the remainder of the output when a keypress is detected.
This makes slow CRT users happier.

-- Ray Essick, University of Illinois