Re: lynx-dev patches on this list (was When I tell a Webmaster...)

[Henry Nelson]

> On Wed, 4 Aug 1999 address@hidden wrote:
> > >(Could we convince a digest to strip the patches? Hmm...)
> > 
> > Would people be willing to fetch patches from an archive if _all_ MIME 
> > attachments were stripped and archived as the mail goes through the MLM?

I've gotten confused.  Could the original poster clarify whether you
are asking for 1) essentially ONLY PATCHES or 2) all the mail content
with PATCHES DELETED?

> (3) Messing around with the content of messages by stripping arbitrary
>     parts is not something an unmoderated public mailing list should be
>     doing.  Certainly not this one.  It's an all-around Bad Idea.

I agree with this 100%.

I think *digesting* an archive is a completely different task from
maintaining an archive of "an unmoderated public mailing list."  By
definition digesting requires a bias, i.e., a decision has to be made
about what is cut out, and what is left in.  A true archive, OTOH,
must be impartial and complete.

If you are interested in a digest that cuts out all headers except
From, From:, Subject:, Date: and Reply-To:, removes multi-line signatures
of regular contributers, cuts out uuencoded/base64/PGP, non-text material
and the majority of "mime crap", removes "lynx-dev" from the Subject:
line, attempts to delete repetitious advertisements, and arbitrarily
deletes some of the more offensive bickering, mistaken posts, off-topic
material and off-the-wall junk, then maybe you're in luck since I've
been keeping one since February 1996.  The main complaint I've had is
that I do it on a one-month basis, and sometimes get a few weeks behind.
I entertain constructive criticism (off the list, of course), although
without code (gawk) to do what you want, don't expect fast results. The
index is: http://www.irm.nara.kindai.ac.jp/lynxdev/ldev-idx.html#1

>     (I also think it is not easily possible to do this automatically with
>     the "usual" maiing list tools.  In fact, I hope so.)

Exactly.  Anyone is free to use the above "service" or create your own
digest.  But most people abhor censorship, especially when it's forced.

__Henry