From perl-packrats Mon Dec  6 10:17:25 1993
Received: by feenix.metronet.com id AA16068
  (5.67a/feenix for wjm); Mon, 6 Dec 1993 04:17:27 -0600
Return-Path: <perl-packrats>
Received: by feenix.metronet.com id AA16064
  (5.67a/feenix for perl-packrats); Mon, 6 Dec 1993 04:17:26 -0600
Message-Id: <199312061017.AA16064@feenix.metronet.com>
From: wjm (Bill Middleton)
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1993 04:17:25 -0600
X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (7.2.5 10/14/92)
To: perl-packrats
Subject: plots, plans, dreams, and schemes



  I just finished cross-referencing my archive with what's on the
current coombs list.  I'll be mirroring what i don't have within
a few days.  Then i'll find a home for the stuff in my "waiting area",
which i try to do every now and then.  It's rather different, running
an archive as a gopher heirarchy, simultaneously with ftp access.
This is the first time i've gone thru and created a comprehensive
master list of the entire tree.

  Which leads in to some other potential discussion areas, which
i'd really like to know y'all's thoughts about.  Maybe we don't
need any of this stuff, or maybe not.  Of course, it'd mean some
serious coordination, but i think we could pull it off.  And
automation is certainly thinkable too, once the processes/definitions
are given.


- Archiving (in general)
    a. mirroring, updating mirror sites
    b. versions and version control (pointers to actual sites)
    c. usability, portability of items
    d. testing 
    e. reinventing the wheel (other scripts do the same thing)

- Indexing
    a. general index record format - naming, author?, version, master archive
    b. descriptions - current one-liners or (possible) abstract format 
    c. more?

- Classification
   a. scripts 
   b. libraries
   c. info/announcement files
   d. instructional postings (hi Tom!)
   e. discussion and explanations 
   f. others

- gopher, WWW, and mailserver access 
    a. heirarchical structure for an archive (gopher)
    b. http WWW documents for what purposes?
    c. mailserver request format (common?)
    d. waisindexing, other search engines?
    e. other retrieval methods?

  
  Mark, i'll be happy to create you an account here for the purpose of
coordinating on this, and once you get coombs back, you could mirror
whatever we decide to do here and elsewhere.  Could someone get 
Tim Bunce and other's interested possibly?  Tom, maybe a posting
from you would encourage others to join us.


Bill