[Mailman-Users] Real time?

[Carl Zwanzig]

[changed the subject, I don't intend to carry this topic any further]

On 2/28/2016 11:28 PM, Ruben Safir wrote:
> On 02/29/2016 02:12 AM, Carl Zwanzig wrote:
>> Oh, and -nothing- involved in email handling is "real time", which has a
>> fairly specific meaning in computing.

> Use whatever terminology you wish.  RT is a scheduler term, but it has
> meaning outside of that.  I can't have mailing list mail waiting for an
> hour to reach users.  It kills the flow of discussion.

Email is not, and never has been, "real time" in any use of the term as 
applied to computing. Granted, we're not talking about calculating machine 
control parameters in precise 20ms windows, but as multiple people have 
said, email is always going to store and forward which is not RT- it might 
take seconds or it might take hours. This doesn't kill the discussion on a 
great many lists out there, some with 1000s of users. (Some think this is a 
feature, not a bug, in that writers are likely to spend more time crafting 
their response. This particular message has taken about 30 minutes elapsed 
time to write. Anyway, it's you list, not mine.)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_computing
"In computer science, real-time computing (RTC), or reactive computing 
describes hardware and software systems subject to a "real-time constraint", 
for example from event to system response."

'The term "near real-time" or "nearly real-time" (NRT), in 
telecommunications and computing, refers to the time delay introduced, by 
automated data processing or network transmission, between the occurrence of 
an event and the use of the processed data, such as for display or feedback 
and control purposes. For example, a near-real-time display depicts an event 
or situation as it existed at the current time minus the processing time, as 
nearly the time of the live event."

Another definition says "the actual time during which a process takes place 
or an event occurs." And if that process takes an hour with no added delays, 
that's still "in real time".


If you really need practically immediate communication, then one of the 
various chat systems might be a better solution. If you want to use email 
and not hassle about the configs, you might also consider one other hosted 
(and paid) mailman services. See the FAQ on that.


z!