XPost: talk.religion.buddhism, alt.zen, alt.philosophy.zen   
   XPost: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy   
   From: lrudolph@panix.com   
      
   Julian  writes:   
      
   >On 19/08/2010 13:04, Lee Rudolph wrote:   
   >> Julian  writes:   
   >>   
   >>> On 19/08/2010 10:52, syringe nipples wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> for 2 and a half months my sent folder has been saving my messages in   
   >>>> firefox and they number just over 5,000, that sounds more realistic. i   
   >>>> did use google groups temporarily in that period but very shortly.   
   >>>   
   >>> 5000 sent, cross posted to perhaps 4 or 5 groups   
   >>> is 20 to 25 thousand posts in the Google archive   
   >>> no matter which posting method you use.   
   >>   
   >> If so, a further testimony to the utter cackhandedness   
   >> of Google when it comes to Usenet.   
   >   
   >It's not really Google fault that Usenet works that way   
   >with a copy of every post sent to every group in its list.   
      
   Say what?   
      
   My understanding is that in Usenet (and altnet, etc.) proper,   
   a news server (say, the one at panix.com, where I read and   
   post; or--I have always assumed--those at Eternal September   
   and the like) keeps a "news spool" with one copy of each   
   post that has both (1) a "Newsgroups:" header that includes   
   at least one of the set of newsgroups supported by the server   
   (and perhaps none of a set of newsgroups blacklisted by   
   the server), (2) a "Date:" header that indicates a date   
   and time within the server's non-expiration interval   
   for the relevant newsgroup(s).  The server then serves   
   *that copy* to any client that requests it *in any of   
   the server's supported newsgroups that appears in the   
   "Newsgroups:" header.  One file (or subfile of a unitary   
   newsspool, if that be the case), many avatars.  To do   
   otherwise (as you seem to believe that Google--and indeed   
   Usenet servers in general--do]es[) would be profligate   
   of diskspace (which was once, after all, at rather more   
   of a premium than it is nowadays).   
      
   It's a pity we can't consult on this with any geeks,   
   but of course no geeks read these groups.   
      
   Lee Rudolph   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)