[Mailman-Developers] Re: Requirements for a new archiver

[Brad Knowles]

At 2:30 PM -0600 2003/10/28, David Champion wrote:

>                               Nobody needs web access: what they need is
>  access via a web browser. With browsers that understand NNTP and IMAP
>  prevalent, and with a wide selection of web-mail and web-news gateways
>  for the cases where that doesn't work, this is sufficient.

	You can't assume a homogenous client mix, one where a single 
program does everything.  There are way more phone users than there 
are computer users, and the number of mobile phones in a growing 
number of countries exceeds the number of fixed lines.  Mobile access 
to the web will be the next killer app.  However, most of those 
phones might have some sort of a browser, but e-mail support would be 
from a separate program, and USENET news clients would be 
non-existent.

	You cannot assume a homogenous client mix.  Moreover, you can't 
assume broad support for less common protocols like IMAP or NNTP.

>  2. many people have IMAP software. Fewer have or understand how to use
>     NNTP software.

	Many more people have access to some sort of web browser than 
they do some sort of IMAP client.  If you're going to do 
lowest-common-denominator, then IMAP loses.

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles at skynet.be>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
     -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

GCS/IT d+(-) s:+(++)>: a C++(+++)$ UMBSHI++++$ P+>++ L+ !E-(---) W+++(--) N+
!w--- O- M++ V PS++(+++) PE- Y+(++) PGP>+++ t+(+++) 5++(+++) X++(+++) R+(+++)
tv+(+++) b+(++++) DI+(++++) D+(++) G+(++++) e++>++++ h--- r---(+++)* z(+++)