From: hellmond@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Peter H. Hellmonds)
Subject: Re: electronic math seminar?
Originator: news@ernie.Princeton.EDU
Organization: Princeton University
Distribution: sci
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 19:46:04 GMT

jk87377@cc.tut.fi (Juhana Kouhia) writes:

->(Allan Adler) writes:

->>(1) You want to make it open to the "public", i.e. anyone wanting to attend
->>    the seminar should be able to log in to do so.
->>(2) You don't want an arbitrary time limit on the meeting.
->>(3) It would be nice to be able to save a transcript of the seminar.
->>(4) It would be nice to be able to feed previously prepared files into
->>    the discussion.
->>(5) One should be able to control the scrolling of stuff as it goes by,
->>    so it doesn't go by too quickly.

->How IRC (Internet Relay Chat?) works for this?
->What problems we have with IRC?

->(1) -- Transcript may be available via mail servers and FTP places,
->       also many people can attempt at once. In phone every person
->       takes one part of the screen, in IRC that is not the case.
->(2) -- This is ok, also you can go to lunch and continue discussion later.
->       (And read the missed discussions from the transcript.)
->(3) -- Have I told this before? transcript is available somehow.
->(4) -- Is this possible?
->(5) -- I have tested IRC a bit, I wasn't able to control the text
->       at all -- it just floated away..

IRC can do more than you think:

(1) the program is freely available from a number of anonymous FTP sites 
	worldwide. Currently maximum numbers of over 800 users connected 
	simultaenously in over 20 countries have been experienced. 

(2) a) IRC runs around the clock and around the globe. IRC never sleeps.
	There is no technical limit on the time for the conference.

(2) b) logging  of discussions is possible for individual users, depending
	on the software the user uses. Most Unix platforms support the 
	software which allows logging, i.e. one can leave and have the 
	computer program record the proceedings during the absence. This 
	could be done either by setting the lastlog level very high or 
	by opening a logfile.

(3) a logfile (or even multiple logfiles for multiple windows within IRC)
	can be set and allows each user to log his/her own transcript.

(4) yes, current IRC clients running under Unix support direct client - 
	to - client file transfer. it is also possible (but tedious) to dump
	an entire file to the screen and thus distribute it simultaneously
	to every participant in the conference.

(5) it is also possible to set a hold mode for the scrolling of the screen
	so that it stops after each screenful unless the user has 
	interrupted the scrolling by contributing him/herself.


->Also, IRC doesn't call you as does phone and talk programs, so we have
->to announce the meeting time and maybe program in this group.


IRC has also a /summon command which would call a user to the conference
(provided the user is currently logged on to his/her computer).


->What I would like to get to IRC is that I'm able to pick up
->others sentences (this could be possible if there's numbering system
->for each sentence, personal numbering system; starting from the
->beginning of the session). 


If you set your lastlog level appropriate, you can scan it for either
search words, or for a user's nickname (just another searchword) or for
different types of messages, be they public, or private messages, or
notices, etc.


->Also, there should be real text editor for
->typing and editing my own sentences (cursor editing system like emacs,
->vi, etc.) and then after I have edited the text, I can point out the
->region which I would like to send out (this allows that the editing
->file could be full of the notes, like mathematical equations which are
->hard to type in everytime, and I don't have to clean the editing
->area all of the time).


Well, it is possible for example on computers with a mouse and multiple 
windows to edit in one file using an editor and using cut-and-paste to 
send the output to IRC. Currently, the irc version that I use (ircII2.1.5g)
has an emacs-style input line editor which allows me to do cursor move-
ments using emacs style commands.


-- 
Peter H. Hellmonds - Princeton University - Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA 
Tel (609) 683-4893 (home) - (609) 258-4804 (off) - Fax (609) 258-2809 
Internet: hellmond@phoenix.Princeton.EDU ------ BITNET: hellmond@PUCC 
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance".   --  Derek Bok