comp.lang.c: Why no subcategories?

[Tony]

Let's see... there are 2 C language newsgroups: comp.lang.c and
comp.lang.c.moderated. With only those 2, which by the naming should be
discussions of the same topics but with one being moderated/enforced, well,
OF COURSE anything even remotely C-related is going to end up there. The
cliche joke is: "if it hurts when you do that, don't do that!". Meaning, why
not create branch groups off of comp.lang.c and leave the top level for the
somewhat more esoteric and largely boring language lawyer stuff? Sure, there
will be overlap, but the net result will be expansion of the thoughtspace
regarding USAGE of C, which is good! I don't see the OS groups being a place
to foster those discussions because the focus there is too much on the OS
idiosynchracies rather then that with a C flavor. Deciding what
subcategories to create requires some deep thought is all, which seems
pretty easy. The same applies to the C++ groups and probably moreso since
they probably have more traffic there (I'm not really a C user, but rather a
C++ user, though in the early 1990's, I used C exclusively, but I still find
C relevant).

Here's my "off the top of my head" categorical suggestions:

comp.lang.c.datastructuresandalgos
comp.lang.c.platformspecific
comp.lang.c.industryspecific
comp.lang.c.isostdc
comp.lang.c.misc

I'd even suggest deprecating comp.lang.c over time and migrating to
something like the above tree.

Tony

 

[Ian Collins]

With the ever ongoing topicality war, we could use comp.lang.c.misc
as a place where everything C related would be accepted, and IIRC
there is already a proposal for comp.lang.c.misc. It's just stupid
to redirect OPs to long gone dead groups where the supposed experts
reside.

comp.lang.c.topicalitywar would be a good idea.

You should be aware that creating new groups in comp.* is a tedious
process, and there is a proper way to make proposals. But you could
always create them yourself as you want in the alt.* tree.

Search for "comp.lang.c++.misc" on c.l.c++ for an example of the process.

 

[Tony]

With the ever ongoing topicality war, we could use comp.lang.c.misc
as a place where everything C related would be accepted, and IIRC
there is already a proposal for comp.lang.c.misc.

Good to hear that. I did not know that (but why would I? (rhetorical)).

All the other suggestions would probably just be dead ends and
cause more confusion than good.

I disagree (obviously since I proposed the subcategories), but that is a
topic for another thread. It makes no sense to discuss it further unless
people surface that want to change what exists or build on it. Until the
first step happens, the rest cannot.

You should be aware that creating new groups in comp.* is a tedious
process, and there is a proper way to make proposals.

I do know that as I researched creating a new USENET newsgroup a bit a "few"
years ago. But I was just making the suggestion. I wasn't stepping up as
some kind of leader to facilitate the change or evolution as I am just a
casual participant in this group.

(To me it's as easy as organizing file folders on my desktop PC, mind you. I
think that probably though, there are people here who are passionate about
C. Personally, it's not expressive enough for me and I envision a better
language than either C or C++. Indeed, why do you think I write my own
libraries? Please don't respond to this parenthetical passage in the thread.
Start a new one if you want to post on anything within the parenthesis.
Thanks.)

But you could always create them yourself as you want in the alt.* tree.

I don't care about C though, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to do that
and then it wouldn't survive if I did that. If someone else makes a more
reasonable tree of "all things C" on alt though, I'd go there! (As someone
with "casual" interest in C, I want wheat, not chaff (I have other friends
to "go out drinking" with! )).

Tony

 

[James Kuyper]

Let's see... there are 2 C language newsgroups: comp.lang.c and
comp.lang.c.moderated.

You shouldn't really count comp.lang.c.moderated. If you're wondering
why, just try monitoring it for a while. The moderation delays are quite
frustrating, almost as frustrating as the trolls which infest this
newsgroup.