What Dan really wants for comp.unix

[Dan Bernstein]

In article <1990Oct03.021535.2030 at virtech.uucp> cpcahil at virtech.UUCP (Conor P. Cahill) writes:
> In article <10833:Oct221:07:0590 at kramden.acf.nyu.edu> brnstnd at kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) writes:
> >Whatever the fate of unix-wizards, I'd like to see two new groups:
> >  comp.unix.futures  The future of UNIX and of its derivatives
> >  comp.unix.kernel   Current UNIX kernel discussions
> Aren't there enough comp.unix.* groups for now?  There are so many of 
> them that it is probably real confusing about where to post a question.

You're absolutely right. There should never be a general group (except
perhaps .misc to handle spillover) when more specific groups are
available. The current comp.unix hierarchy disobeys this rule. That's
why it's so confusing.

I kept that other proposal to noncontroversial groups. Now here's what
I'd really like to see happen:

  newgroup comp.unix.futures
  newgroup comp.unix.kernel
  rmgroup comp.unix

  forget comp.unix.questions, more specific groups are now available
  alias comp.unix.questions to comp.unix.misc
  gateway info-unix to comp.unix.misc

  forget comp.unix.wizards, more specific groups are now available
  alias comp.unix.wizards to comp.unix.programmer, not internals
  gateway unix-wizards to comp.unix.programmer

  rmgroup comp.unix.internals, the name sucks
  eventually rmgroup comp.unix.questions
  eventually rmgroup comp.unix.wizards

But inertia prevents such drastic changes from happening overnight. So
I'll wait, let the confusion settle a bit, and see what can be done step
by step.

Anyone who wants to bring back ``the old unix-wizards'' should realize
that the old unix-wizards has been dead for a few years. The group has
been a mishmash of discussions, mostly like comp.unix.programmer, some
like comp.unix.kernel/shell/futures. To revive the past you must start
from a clean slate.

> Let's leave well enough alone for at least a few months.

I was proposing to wait for Chip's latest vote to finish, which'll be
another couple of months at least.

---Dan