On Wed, 19 Jun 1996 18:27:54 -0400 Craig A Summerhill <[log in to unmask]> said: >About two years ago (around the time CREN was trying to decide how to >find and license a unix product for its members -- a product Eric had >repeatedly said there was no need for due presumably to the bad taste >unix leaves in his mouth), Excuse me, but could you please get your facts straight? About 2 years ago was around June 94, yes? Well, I don't know where you were in June 94, but that's when LISTSERV for unix was *released*. In August 93, ie about THREE years ago, L-Soft formally released a paper announcing plans to port LISTSERV to unix. This wasn't anything new really and it sounds like you're talking about FOUR or more years ago, at which time CREN was NOT looking for a way to license a unix product for its members. The hard reality is that when CREN was looking for a unix product for its members, L-Soft had official plans to port LISTSERV to unix with a concrete schedule and business plan, and furthermore these plans had been out for several months. >But even then, I never saw LISTPROC system admins or list managers >taking the kind of cheap shots at the LISTSERV product Well, I have been subscribed to this list myself and I must say that I am starting to wonder if we are from the same planet. There has been no shortage of cheap shots aimed either at LISTSERV or at me. I distinctly recall being called "insecure idiot" and "punch card for brains" (and other derivatives) on repeated occasions. The entire repertoire of lame mainframe jokes was put to good use. The porting technique I had chosen for LISTSERV (and thanks to which, to date, LISTSERV still supports a larger number of unixes than the commercial ListProc) was ridiculed abundantly. A lot of misinformation was posted about LISTSERV by people who, like you, claimed that they were setting the record straight, and I would then correct the inaccuracies and the cheap shots would begin. No, sorry, where have you been? >And Eric, while you don't take those kind of shots at LISTPROC yourself >(at least not publicly), you certainly do nothing to discourage them do >you? And *that*, of course, does not qualify as a cheap shot? :-) To tell you the truth, Craig, I don't think highly of either ListProc or its author. But even if I did, I don't see any reason why I should try to police people into being nice to them, not unless the list got out of control, as is starting to be the case now. The victims are old enough to defend themselves and, if I remember correctly, they aren't shy either. >But I could sure do without the ego-driven LISTSERV vs. LISTPROC >garbage. So could I and, I am sure, the majority of people who are subscribed to this list to talk about the topic of the list, namely, *LISTSERV*, not what CREN decided 2 years ago or whether the people who write ListProc are nice guys or jerks. So, I would be grateful if you could take your venting to private mail. Thank you. Eric