Announcing '4bsd-f77', a way to coordinate 4.2 BSD f77 bug reports

[Donn Seeley]

Based on the responses to the questionnaire which was sent out nearly
three weeks ago, I have decided to create a quasi-formal system for
handling 4.2 BSD f77 bugs over the network.

Since a number of respondents felt strongly that a newsgroup was the
appropriate medium and a nearly equal number wanted a mailing list, I
will create a mailing list called '4bsd-f77' and gateway it into the
existing Usenet newsgroup net.lang.f77.  The mailing list part of the
arrangement will be moderated -- this means that I will look at bug
reports coming in to the 4bsd-f77 address and check to make sure that
the reports describe a behavior of the compiler that can be duplicated
with my software and don't represent a bug that is already known.
Messages that are fed into net.lang.f77 will be marked as having come
through 4bsd-f77, so if you want some sort of moderation in the
newsgroup you can just check the subject line for the list
identification.  I should note here that I have no intention (or
ability) to interfere with the normal traffic in net.lang.f77, so if
you want to post a '4bsd-f77' article, you need to mail it to the
4bsd-f77 address just as though you were on the mailing list.

There will be a smaller mailing list 'f77-fixers' for people who want
to coordinate making fixes to the compiler.  At the moment the kind of
subscribers I would like on this list are hackers who are willing to
seriously spend a fair amount of time either processing bug reports or
testing proposed bug fixes.  When someone on this list develops a fix
for a bug and it passes a certain amount of testing, it will go out on
4bsd-f77 and net.lang.f77.  If a fix comes in on 4bsd-f77, it will be
forwarded to f77-fixers for testing before it goes out on 4bsd-f77.

Does all that sound reasonable?

Anyway, here are some ways to get to '4bsd-f77':

	4bsd-f77 at utah-cs.arpa		decvax!utah-cs!4bsd-f77
	harpo!utah-cs!4bsd-f77		hplabs!utah-cs!4bsd-f77
	nbires!utah-cs!4bsd-f77		arizona!utah-cs!4bsd-f77

The list will not be active for a while, but I will take solicitations
at the 4bsd-f77 address if you want to get on the distribution list
when I get it working.  If possible, try to give me a mail alias like
'f77-sufferers' which can handle redistribution to all interested
parties in your area; this cuts down on mail traffic (and
administrative duties!).

If you know how to get a mailing-list-Usenet gateway working and
perhaps even have some software to share, I'd really like to hear from
you -- send me mail at my normal address (donn at utah-cs.arpa).

Thanks to everyone who responded,

Donn Seeley    University of Utah CS Dept    donn at utah-cs.arpa
40 46' 6"N 111 50' 34"W    (801) 581-5668    decvax!utah-cs!donn

PS -- If you're curious about setting up your own mailing list
or are just interested, here are the results from the questionnaire:

Is a 4.2 BSD f77 mailing list necessary?
	[necessary = 24, status quo = 7, no opinion = 2]
Would a (possibly moderated) Usenet news group be acceptable to you?
	[acceptable = 18, unacceptable = 9, no opinion = 9]
Should there be a Usenet group that is gatewayed to a list?
	[gateway desirable = 6, no opinion = 27]
Would you subscribe to the mailing list if it were created?
	[subscribe = 28, not subscribe = 1, no opinion = 4]
What if it were only available as a Usenet news group?
	[subscribe = 23, not subscribe = 2, no opinion = 8]
If both forms were available, which would you subscribe to, if any?
	[mailing list = 10, news group = 13, no opinion = 10]
Would you contribute bug reports to a list or news group?
	[contribute = 20, not contribute = 1, no opinion = 12]
Would you contribute bug fixes to it?
	[contribute = 11, not contribute = 5, no opinion = 16]
Should the list or group be moderated for quality control?
	[moderated = 11, unmoderated = 4, no opinion = 18]
How do you feel about the current level of quality in 4.2 BSD f77 bug
reports and fixes?
	[tactful = 7, no opinion = 26]
How long would you be willing to wait for a new fix to be approved?
	[patient = 7, no opinion = 26]
If you feel that the list needs to be moderated in order to ensure some
sort of quality control, would you volunteer your site to run
experimental versions of the compiler and libraries on production
software?
	[brave = 13, not so brave = 4, no opinion = 16]