Conversion of the comp.sw.components Mailing List to a newsgroup

Conversion of the comp.sw.components Mailing List to a newsgroup

[Bill Wolfe]

   Based on advice from various net-knowledgeable sources, I have decided
   to initiate the newsgroup conversion process for the comp.sw.components
   mailing list.  The mailing list contains 104 members, some of which
   (e.g., local-sw-components@machine) correspond to more than one user. 

   The following is a description of the scope of the newsgroup, which
   has been taken from the mailing list's Welcome message:

 $ This newsgroup will facilitate discussions about software components
 $ and their design, implementation, and utilization.  It is probable that 
 $ this will be mainly a group of professional component developers, people 
 $ who are training to become such a professional, and/or people who have an 
 $ interest in developing their own components from time to time.  
 $
 $ As a "public service", we are also here to help and advise all component 
 $ users who need advice, and to provide a forum for reviewing the software 
 $ components provided by vendors.  We are also here to allow the people who 
 $ developed any products which are criticized to show why perhaps the 
 $ criticism may not be entirely justified, or to seek ideas regarding how 
 $ the component(s) could be improved, and to provide a means by which new 
 $ techniques can be spread throughout the component development community. 
 $
 $ Also, questions such as "How can I handle problem X which arises when I
 $ try to implement component Y in language Z?" and "I have a nifty priority
 $ queue, and would like a B+ tree; anyone wanna trade?" are encouraged.

   Based upon the best procedural information available, the conversion
   process will operate as follows:

      1) There will be 30 days of discussion.  This article formally
         calls for such a discussion, and has been posted to comp.lang.ada,
         comp.software-eng, and news.groups, and has also been distributed
         to the comp.sw.components mailing list.  The discussion period will
         terminate on Friday, April 14, 1989.

      2) A call for votes will occur on Friday, April 14, 1988.  Its 
         distribution will be the same as the distribution of this 
         call for discussion.  E-mailed votes will be collected
         and counted until Sunday, May 14, 1989.  The call for votes
         may be repeated up to three times during the voting period.

      3) The votes will be counted on Monday, May 15, 1989.  A summary
         of YES and NO voters will be posted with the same distribution
         as the calls for discussion and voting.  Unless the results
         do not give the YES votes at least a 100-vote margin of victory,
         a request for newsgroup creation will then be sent to Gene Spafford. 

   The discussion will cover the scope of the proposed newsgroup, the voting
   procedure, the name of the newsgroup, and the pros and cons of creating it.


   Bill Wolfe, wtwolfe@hubcap.clemson.edu
   comp.sw.components Mailing List administrator