🚀 go-pugleaf

On 21 Nov 1994, David S. Eitelbach wrote:

> True, but it _is_ the program's fault if the feature cannot be toggled
> and/or the default be switched to the more conservative one.

	[ ... ]

> But we don't want you to make it *impossible*. All we want is you to
> change the default, or, better, let the user be able to toggle it off.

	[ ... ]

> Right, but why not let the user be able to toggle it off and default
> to the way it was in 3.89?  So many toggles seemed to have been added
> to the configuration setup screen in the new version, I can't believe
> one more would hurt.

OK - *I'm* not irrevocably opposed to toggles in the config file.
As you said: I can't believe one more would hurt.
If you're not getting a reasonable hearing from the Pine team ( or
from other folks like myself who jump in to defend them ) it may be
because all of the previous threads on this subject have made everyone
a little defensive and combative. i.e. it's gotten into name calling
about whose software is "broken" and not how to best deal with the
problem.

 But I do strongly resist labeling it as a "Pine problem".

 As I noted in that discussion, I have some alpha WWW gateway code that
will inevitably run into the same problem - it will typically be taking
messages from a public-archive of messages, but there is no unambiguous
way for the program to know whether it is a public archive or a store
of private messages. If I add the capability to respond to messages
( which it doesn't currently have ) I will have to do basically the same
thing - and it's unlikely ( because of the stateless nature of HTTP )
that this will be user configurable. In fact, because of the round trip
overhead of asking for confirmation, it's unlikely to be as insistent
as Pine about "are you sure..."

 I think increasing mail/news and other message integration is an
inevitable trend.

 Todays issue of Network World has an article headed:

	"Universal in-boxes await more standards.
	Vendors working together to link voice, E-mail, fax, EDI into
	one interface."

This article is not discussing IETF standards, but Electronic Messaging
Association standards, however, whatever they come up with, the internet
will probably have to deal with in some manner.

The internet is bigger than usenet news, and it is going to have to
deal with a wider range of integration problems than this one.



-- Steve Majewski       (804-982-0831)      <sdm7g@Virginia.EDU> --
-- UVA Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics --
-- Box 449 Health Science Center        Charlottesville,VA 22908 --