Bill and Ugo,
Thanks for the answer...it worked just as I needed it too. I haven't
used/seen "NaN" since I last programmed in Fortran a few years back :)
Bill,
Why I prefer news servers over mail lists (my opinions, of course).
Note, I'm not suggestion getting a new group added to usenet, but rather
running a news server on the box that manages the mail list, for
example:
- Easier to manage, or, same flow of info without the cluttered inbox.
To me, an empty inbox is a happy inbox (I'm in the minority there
though, at least where I work!). I find it much more convenient to have
everything stored in a news reader, searchable by title or body, as
opposed to a folder on my computer or the web based archive.
- On-demand information...this kind of goes with the above. Let's same
I'm working on a project using VisAD. The mailing list is useful. Now
I move on to something else. Do I unsubscribe until I have more
questions? Have a filter set up to put everything into another folder?
With a news server, any time I have a question I can connect, get all
the traffic since the last time, do a quick search for related topics,
and post if necessary.
- Self-archiving. Don't expire the messages off the nntp server and
you've got a complete archive! Eventually, the web-based list archive
will grow too large (especially for those of us who still have slow
(28.8) dial up at home) and require pruning or some other care. If I've
already got 99% of the headers in a newsreader on my machine at home, I
can find topics of interest more quickly than if I have to load a large
HTML page for each search.
- "Flexibility is the key to airpower" as they tell us in the Air
Force. Let's say you wanted to break out the list by
topic...visad.Newbie, visad.Developer, visad.visualization.questions,
visad.visualization.examples, whatever. It's easier to do that with
newsgroups than mailing lists.
- All traffic instantly available...no mail delays. If everyone
connects to the same nntp server to retrieve and post, everyone is
instantly sync'ed...no delays. I don't know if this is a big advantage,
but it would keep everyone on the same sheet of music.
As far as the Java3D group example goes...I don't why that would be
(inertia?). I do know that product-specific groups work great...they
are my preferred way of getting help. I connect to servers (as I use
the various products) run by Borland/Inprise, Symantec/Webgain, the php
folks, Pair networks (web hosting), Wise (installers) and have found
them to be truly valuable and convenient...
Not that I'm complaining about the mailing list, mind you....it was
just a thought!
Thanks again,
p
------------------------
Paul Gifford, Capt, USAF
NOAA/NGDC
325 S Broadway EGC2
Boulder CO 80303
303-497-6556 voice
303-497-6513 fax
Bill Hibbard wrote:
>
> Its a thought. On the other hand, the Java3D folks set up a
> new group but their mailing list is still much more active than
> their new group. What are the advatages of a news group?
>
> Cheers,
> Bill
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Bill Hibbard, SSEC, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706
> hibbard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 608-263-4427 fax: 608-263-6738
> http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/vis.html
