From: Brad Templeton (brad@templetons.com)
Date: Mon Oct 07 2002 - 13:39:37 CDT
On Mon, Oct 07, 2002 at 11:37:40AM +0000, Charles Lindsey wrote:
> Yes, as Brad says, a DAG might be better, but introduces additional
> complications (you would probably need a strict tree to form its
> backbone). But even a DAG would still use recognized words and mnemonics
> that people who understood the applicable language could relate to.
The goal, long term, would be that people would not see the old tags.
Implementation would go something like this.
a) Newgroup messages and checkgroup messages are modified to support a
tag giving full 16 bit character set name for the newsgroup. The name
is any string. It can include spaces, any printable character except
comma. (no tabs or newlines) Other details on formation of the names
are policy matters. A group without a new-name form uses the old name,
with dots turnd to spaces, first letter capitalized.
This is a very simple, flat-file dbm style database.
b) Articles are still posted with old-style, ASCII, dot-delimited names.
Some users still see that.
c) Newsreaders are encouraged (SHOULD) to fetch the list of mappings,
and display the new name and not the old one for the user. They let them
find groups by searching in the new names and typing them. Or by browsing
both the original hierarchy (invisibly using the old names) or any other
hierarchies people wish to publish. Posters follow the same route though
the normal means of posting these days is to read a group and post in it.
d) NNTP is modified to allow the fetch of the new name for any group,
and to display it in the return after the GROUP command.
e) News to Mail gateways are encouraged to add a GroupNames header which
provides the "readable" group names for people doing mail.
f) For extra credit, tools are instituted (control messages) to publish
and broadcast named "groups of groups" as a long-term means to replace
hierarchies. Thus somebody might publish a list of quality groups that is
picked from any hierarchy -- The so called "big" 8 and alt and others, and
that these be usable by alias in feed control files, searches etc.
This need not be part of the standard.
In fact, to implement the above, the only changes to the standard are:
a) Making sure the control messages have the ability to include the
new, 16 bit character group names.
b) Guideline for News to Mail
The rest can be done and tested and standardized later.