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- Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
- Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!auvm!CONNCOLL.BITNET!GATEH
- X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (6.4 2/14/89)
- Message-ID: <9301221506.AA02317@mvax.cc.conncoll.edu>
- Newsgroups: bit.listserv.nodmgt-l
- Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 10:06:03 -0500
- Sender: Node Management <NODMGT-L@UGA.BITNET>
- From: GATEH@CONNCOLL.BITNET
- Subject: Re: _possible_ death of BITNET
- Lines: 46
-
- > >I don't know enough about the history of BITNET to know what drives
- > >development on VAX and IBM machines, but whatever it was/is, it's
- > >missing from the unix part of the community.
- >
- > Oh, that much I can answer. There is virtually no unix community on
- > BITNET (8% of nodes claim to run unix, but among these are many "fake"
- > nodes which don't correspond to a real machine but simply intercept the
- > mail and pipe it to SMTP, just to provide a mail-only BITNET address for
- > a unix machine).
-
- Hmm, I knew there weren't many, but didn't realize it was that small
- a number. Perhaps addressing the need for better support for unix
- on BITNET is not a serious issue with regards to the future of
- BITNET.
-
- > To this lack of potential programmers you have to add
- > the fact that UREP isn't precisely conducive to enthusiasm for NJE. If I
- > were in charge of BITNET I would never have accepted to let people
- > connect with such buggy software. It simply doesn't provide a SERVICE,
- > all it does is give a bad impression of NJE.
-
- [illuminating Japanese example deleted for brevity]
-
- > As far as I'm concerned I'd rather they [unix sites] left BITNET,
- > because the connection they have today is totally worthless and
- > they can only get better service from the Internet.
- >
- > Eric
-
- Are you saying that there should be little or no attempt to include
- unix/open systems machines in the future of BITNET? I can
- understand that given current programming and development resources
- on BITNET and the number of current unix sites it could very well
- make sense to focus the network and its resources only on those
- machines with full-blown NJE connectivity. I don't have a clear
- sense from CREN exactly what the general philosophy for future
- planning is, whether there will be a tightening down and making the
- best of what's here, or more of an expansion, with the notion of
- attracting new members and architectures. If the philosophy calls
- for expansion, do you think that can be done without including
- unix/open systems machines?
-
- Cheers - Gregg
-
- Gregg TeHennepe | Comp & Info Services | Internet: gateh@mvax.cc.conncoll.edu
- Post/Hostmaster | Connecticut College | BITNET/CREN: gateh@conncoll
-