Re: Expensive scoring

On 2007-08-25, Frank Slootweg <this@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Whiskers <catwheezel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 2007-08-24, Frank Slootweg <this@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[...]

Anyway, the point is moot because hardly any News server has
additional overview headers. They just have the above (and Bytes/Lines)

... and just how essential are they? Not something I've ever seen used to
sort or thread 'headers'. Quite handy for filtering or scoring, though, if
you trust them. <G>

I'm so glad you spotted the inconsistency in my argument! That means
you're paying attention! :-)

<chuckle>

To be [f|F]rank, I would like to know *why* Bytes and Lines were put
in the standard overview data, but I could not be bothered to follow the
pointer in RFC 2980.

[deleted]

Changing the set-up of every News-server on the planet would be a very big
inconvenience, so it might never happen, or happen only slowly, but it can
certainly be done if enough people want it to happen. If we all resign
ourselves to things never changing, then we can't complain if things never
improve.

Well, it has not been changed in the last 13++ years since the
original design, so I'd rather bet on seeing pigs fly then this
changing. That was why I said the point was moot.

Technology and the way usenet is used and abused have all moved on in that
time; so change of the 'standards' may well be inevitable.

I'd certainly modify my Noffle (or whatever local caching server
I used) to include Newsgroups on the overview it shows to clients, if I
knew how. I might learn how to, for the convenience that would result.

Yes, changing your own personal/local News server might be a good
thing. However before you do, it may be wise to check if your newsreader
would actually *use* extra overview data headers. *Because* they are so
uncommon, some newsreader authors might not bother.

If I've learned to hack the code for a news-server, I think I could turn
my hand to a news-reader :))

I think everything has been said (but feel free to continue). Thanks
for the discussion.

Thank you; it's been interesting.

[1] At the time, I was running (some of) our company News servers and
supporting my users and their newsreaders, and hence have first hand
experience with newsreaders/News-servers without and with overview data.


--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~
.

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