Original Message Date: 28 Jul 92 08:04:27 From: Mark Lynch on 1:11/0 To: Tom Jennings on 1:1/1 Subj: Format Changes ^AMSGID: 1:11/0 6907d508 Tom, Since you seemed to anticipate this kind of feedback, it probably won't carry much weight, but I was irritated enough this time to be motivated anyway. How about settling down on the FidoNews distribution format? Fun is fun and all, but I'm really tired of being forced to change my configuration, however trivially, every time some new fashionable archiver strikes you. This last transition back to LHARC further shows me that you aren't interested in the latest chic archivers so much as your own convenience. Whatever the reasoning, it all strikes me as very fickle and very amateur. Yes, I know my installation could be more robust and flexible and then I wouldn't be impacted at all by your instability, but that's not the point. Professional data processing has long known the value of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". That philosophy can also be carried to inappropriate extremes, but I think there's a lesson there for _you_ specifically. Choose a format and stick to it. "Stick to it" means _years_, not weeks or months. And then next time you do change, I think you should have a better reason than your own convenience (no CTTY on LHARC? WHO CARES? Get some _real_ remote control software). In my opinion, the convenience of over 10,000 operators outweighs your own so quit jerking us around. MDLYNCH Original Message Date: 29 Jul 92 11:40:41 From: Tom Jennings on 1:125/111 To: Mark Lynch on 1:11/0 Subj: re: Format Changes ^AINTL 1:11/0 1:125/111 > How about settling down on the FidoNews distribution > format? Fun is fun and all, but I'm really tired of being > forced to change my configuration, however trivially, every > time some new fashionable archiver strikes you. This last If you had been reading FidoNews, you would have found it was not a joke, or trivial. It was due to software problems. Believe me, I didn't do it for fun. > Yes, I know my installation could be more robust and > flexible and then I wouldn't be impacted at all by your > instability, but that's not the point. Professional data Well, there's your solution, right?! > Choose a format and stick to it. "Stick to it" means > _years_, not weeks or months. And then next time you do > change, I think you should have a better reason than your > own convenience (no CTTY on LHARC? WHO CARES? Get some > _real_ remote control software). In my opinion, the > convenience of over 10,000 operators outweighs your own so > quit jerking us around. "years"?! FidoNet is hardly "years" old. Compression method was dictated *to me* nto vice versa -- the method available on nearlyall machines, in a non-proprietary format. Only LZH and ZIP are available on IBM, Macs, Atari, CP/M, etc... "get some _real_ software"... Gimme a break! I irritate you, you irritate me... we're even. FidoNet is filled with whiners who do nothing and offer no solutions... thanks for sharing.