CALL FOR VOTES: Reorganization of comp.unix.*

[Chip Salzenberg]

[ Document created: $Date: 90/07/27 18:31:22 $ ]

This article is a CALL FOR VOTES on a reorganization
of the comp.unix.* hierarchy.  This reorganization
will add various "obvious" missing groups and rename
several groups which have misleading names.

PLEASE EXAMINE THE ENTIRE PROPOSAL BEFORE VOTING ON IT.

+----------+
| PROPOSAL |
+----------+

Create:
  comp.unix.admin           UNIX system administration.
  comp.unix.msdos           MS-DOS running under UNIX by whatever means.
  comp.unix.large           UNIX on mainframes and in large networks.
  comp.unix.misc            General discussions regarding UNIX.
  comp.unix.programmer      UNIX programming.
  comp.unix.shell           UNIX shell usage and programming.
  comp.unix.xenix.sco       XENIX versions from the Santa Cruz Operation. [*]

[*] NOTE: If comp.unix.xenix.sco passes, then comp.unix.xenix will be
          renamed to comp.unix.xenix.misc, since its charter will have
          changed to cover only non-SCO versions of XENIX.  I didn't
          want to make two changes based on one vote, but in this case
          I think it's necessary.  Experience teaches that parent
          groups frequently draw inappropriate crossposting from their
          children.  Peer groups are better insulated from each other.

Rename:
 comp.unix.microport -->
  comp.unix.sysv286         UNIX System V (not XENIX) on the '286.
 comp.unix.i386 -->
  comp.unix.sysv386         UNIX System V (not XENIX) on the '386.
 comp.unix.wizards -->
  comp.unix.internals       UNIX internals: kernel hacking, etc.

For completeness, here is a list of comp.unix groups for which NO change
is proposed:

  comp.unix		Discussion of UNIX* features and bugs. (Moderated)
  comp.unix.aix		IBM's version of UNIX.
  comp.unix.aux		The version of UNIX for Apple Macintosh II computers.
  comp.unix.cray	Cray computers and their operating systems.
  comp.unix.questions   Questions and answers about UNIX.
  comp.unix.ultrix	Discussion about DEC's Ultrix.

+---------------+
| VOTING METHOD |
+---------------+

Send votes to the mailbox "vote" on the machine "tct".
Possible ways to address votes include:

	vote%tct at pdn.com
	vote at tct.uucp
	uunet!pdn!tct!vote

Each vote must use this form:

======== START VOTING FORM =========
admin	    yes/no/abstain
msdos	    yes/no/abstain
large	    yes/no/abstain
misc	    yes/no/abstain
programmer  yes/no/abstain
shell	    yes/no/abstain
xenix.sco   yes/no/abstain
sysv286	    yes/no/abstain
sysv386	    yes/no/abstain
internals   yes/no/abstain
======== END VOTING FORM =========

A valid vote MUST specify either "yes", "no" or
"abstain" for EACH proposed change.  Each proposed
newsgroup creation or renaming will stand on its own.

Extra verbiage and/or quoting characters will be
ignored, so don't panic if you send a vote with ">"
characters still in place.

I will use a Perl script to tabulate well-formed
votes.  If a badly-formed vote is complete and its
meaning is obvious, I will fix it.  Otherwise, I will
reply to the voter with a form message that explains
how to cast a valid vote -- essentially, another copy
of this article.

+----------+
| SCHEDULE |
+----------+

[This article was posted on Saturday, Jul 28.-eliot]

  1. Voting:
     The vote will run for 21 days from the time the
     Call For Votes appears in news.announce.newgroups,
     or until Sunday, August 18, whichever is longer.

     I will post a second Call For Votes, and possibly
     a list of unreachable return addresses, during the
     voting period.  When the vote is over, I will post
     the final results.

 2.  Waiting Period:
     I will observe the normal waiting period of five
     days from the time that the final results appear
     in news.announce.newgroups.  During this time,
     people may report lost votes and/or impugn the
     fairness of the vote taker.  :-)

 3.  Consummation:
     After the waiting period, I will issue the
     appropriate control messages to create all new
     groups and/or new names for renamed groups.  About
     one week later, I will re-issue the creation
     control messages, and also issue removal control
     messages for old names of renamed groups.

If all goes as planned, whatever parts of the
reorganization that pass will take effect by the end
of August.
-- 
Chip Salzenberg at ComDev/TCT     <chip at tct.uucp>, <uunet!ateng!tct!chip>