Mastodawn

vga256 Jul 3, 2023

as some of you know, i'm writing a decentralized #foss reddit-like, not- #usenet server/web client called #tomo.

i'm at the stage where i need to make some decisions about how discussion groups are organized on the network, and i'd like your thoughts.

an open question for #fidoNet, #usenet and #reddit users of yore:

1. do you prefer nntp's hierarchical tree-style format for groups, e.g. alt.binaries.warez.ibm.pc.old, or reddit's flat organization of /r/mysubreddit? how about fidonet-style?

2. what's a reasonable character limit on group names? e.g. reddit enforces a 21 character limit on subreddit titles.

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Denez Van Dyck ⏚Jul 3, 2023

@vga256

If I've understood correctly, it should be possible to connect an nntp client to the #tomo server. In this case, the tree-style format would seem to be the obvious choice.

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vga256 Jul 3, 2023

@dvd yes, it is compatible with nntp clients. however, there is no technical requirement in any nntp client (as far as i know!) to use a hierarchy. it just reads the list of groups and splits it into the hierarchies based on their dot.name structure

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Denez Van Dyck ⏚Jul 3, 2023

@vga256

OK. I probably misunderstood the question. 😉

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vga256

@dvd no worries! i'm just thinking about how information is best presented and kept usable for users. i remember the days when there were 10,000 usenet groups, and sifting through them for some obscure topic was difficult.