If the audience will allow, I'd like to try a sharp diversion, and
raise a technical LISTSERV issue..
 
I would like to suggest that the policy of routinely updating the
LISTSERV control files (PEERS NAMES, LINKSWT etc.) will be revised.
 
Currently, the policy is that only "backbone" servers are getting
periodic updates. If you run a non-backbone server, and you are not
extremely aware of this, you will very quickly find yourself running
a backlevel server (control-file-wise).
 
Extremely in the light of DIST2, this is very bad. When I last DISTRIBUTEd
a file using my server, the routes the file took were very funny and stupid.
Only then I found out that my LISTSERV's knowledge about the world is 8
months old.
 
I can use some intricated method to subscribe to the periodical update
of the important files. But I feel this is not a good solution.
 
I would like to suggest that the important files will either:
 
(1) Be distributed to all known servers, without discrimination.
 
(2) Be distributed to all servers that so request, by a *new*
    tag - *not* the "backbone" tag. I have serious reasons
    why I would not put my server in the backbone.
 
I'd prefer solution (1), but either will be okay.
 
Comments?
 
Regards
Doron
 
PS: As an aside, when I got the LINKSWT file from the nearest
    backbone, I LSVPUT it onto my server, just to find, to my
    horror, that my LISTSERV is distributing the file to 70
    other servers... I was fast enuf to stop that in time however.
    Should I have known this is going to happen? And, wouldn't
    this happen when I subscribe my LISTSERV to get the files
    from a backbone site, with a PROLOGTEXT saying PUT?