Scrapping RCS (fwd)

Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 13:45:36 -0300 (ADT)
From: Christopher Majka <nextug@is.dal.ca>
To: "David L. Potter" <potter@chebucto.ns.ca>
cc: Mike Cormier <aq421@chebucto.ns.ca>, Edward Dyer <aa146@chebucto.ns.ca>, michael@csuite.ns.ca, "Andrew D. Wright" <adw@chebucto.ns.ca>,
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <editors-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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Hi all,

On Wed, 4 Oct 2000, David L. Potter wrote:

> I'd like to hear the views of Ed Dyer and and other interested editors 
> before we decide to pull the plug. 
> 
> I'd also like to review the possibility of a 'one day' back-up of the IP 
> directories that we could keep on-site.
> 
> And finally, we should also give IP's and users a couple of days notice 
> before turning it off...

Perhaps someone from the technical committee could comment: I'm wondering
at this stage what functionality does RCS provide that a) isn't otherwise
provided; b) is useful? Also pros & cons.

Questions:

1) Without RCS will it still be possible to do on-line editing on files
via PICO? If not, this would be a great loss since this is very important
functionality.

2) Something (not RCS, yes?) injects the <link> elements into HTML files.
Mostly useful in ascribing ownership to files and hence the Lynx C)omment
function. However, this hasn't really been widely employed and (I
sometimes fear) is a convenient source from which spam engines harvest
addresses.

3) RCS tracks when a file was last revised and by whom. If we dispense
with it, do we lose this ability to show last revision? Does anyone really
care? From my perspective it has some uses but is hardly mission critical.

4) Does removing RCS have any impact on the URLstats and Recent CGI
routines? Will the latter still function? The former (in my view) is very
useful; the latter of minimal utility. Comments?

5) RCS allows us to record editing comments. Does anyone care? There's
never been a front end to retrieve these comments in any case, so what's
the point if any?

6) Cons: RCS files take up space on the server (minimal?); IP  Editors
frequently neglect to remove them if they jettison the source files
(deadwood drifting around); RCS sometimes screws up locking files
(infrequent in my recent experience and easily remedied); there is a
slight learning curve for IP Editors editing files on-line in learning to
use it (but minimal). IP editors working via FTP never encounter it at
all.

7) Any other issues to consider?

Cheers,

Chris

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Christopher Majka		                <aa051@chebucto.ns.ca>
Editor: Culture & Philosophy - Chebucto Community Net, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada.     URL =  http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Culture.html

"Culture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love and of thought,
which, in the course of centuries, have enabled man to be less enslaved."
						-- Andre Malraux, 1957
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