After analysing the comments I have  received on the proposed plan for solving
the "LISTSERV issue", I have prepared a second survey to see if the opinions I
have received so far do represent the views of the LISTSERV maintainers, or if
the "silent majority" has a different opinion.  I will have spent more time on
survey  execs and  texts than  I have  ever spent  on, say  the LISTSERV  mail
forwarding package, but never mind. This just has to be done.
 
Unfortunately I have received a  significant amount of completely inconsistent
answers to the first survey, most of them from EARN users (to give you an idea
of their level of knowledge, several of  them answered that they were not EARN
users, the  worst being that these  were french Node Administrators,  not mere
end-users; I  complained about that on  the french NADs list,  with the result
that it  was quickly decided  to change the list  to "Send=Private" so  that I
could no longer mail  to it, probably to prevent me  from violating the french
laws on freedom of speech). Basically  these answers look like the person just
ran the EXEC  to "see what it  does", and then used a  random number generator
for the answers. I refuse to take these answers away, for ethical reasons, but
they greatly  decrease the usefulness  of the survey.  The reason why  most of
them come from EARN is probably that  the survey was better advertised on EARN
than on  BITNET -  I do  not think  EARN (or  french) users  are intrinsically
inferior to BITNET ones :-)
 
Anyway,  because of  this,  survey number  2 will  be  restricted to  LISTSERV
maintainers and EARN NCCs. This is a  pity because some of the people who fall
in  the "users"  category  are in  fact computing  centre  staff working  with
LISTSERV every day,  but not designated as being the  "main" postmaster. But I
am afraid there is no other ethically acceptable solution.
 
So, if you are a member of LSTSRV-M or EARN-NOG, you are allowed to answer the
survey, otherwise,  you are not.  To clear up  any possible ambiguity,  I will
send  the survey  program (SURV2  EXEC)  to these  two  lists. If  you get  it
directly from LISTSERV, you  are allowed to run it. If you want  to get a copy
just to  look at  the questions, the  command is TELL  LISTSERV AT  LEPICS GET
SURV2 EXEC. You can still run it,  but LISTSERV will discard your answers. All
replies must have reached LISTSERV@LEPICS by the 24th of this month.
 
Finally, I would like  to say that I consider this survey  to be MANDATORY for
ALL EARN sites running LISTSERV (and only optional for BITNET and NetNorth). I
will keep  a list of the  EARN sites which  answered the survey, and  will not
accept ANY kind of  complaint from sites which haven't, in  case the plan does
get implemented.  You are given an  opportunity to participate in  shaping the
future of LISTSERV into something that will suit you, please do use it!
 
  Eric