CURRENT_MEETING_REPORT_ Reported by David Lippke/UTEXAS LISTBOF Minutes The Automated Internet Mailing List Services BOF was held Monday night, before the regular Working Group meetings on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The purpose in holding the BOF was simply to gather interested folks in order to conduct a rather open and free-wheeling discussion about the list server problem and the Working Group's Agenda. A rather wide-ranging discussion did ensue. Topics ranged from ``How is this any different than netnews?'', through the enumeration of specific features that the ``phase 2'' list server world should offer, and on to the presentation of interconnection models and the cures for certain problems that will arise in the ``phase 2'' work. In spite of the meeting's unstructured format, the group reached three conclusions: 1. Simple statement of why the Working Group exists: Dealing with Internet mailing lists is a pain for everyone involved -- users, list owners, and postmasters alike. Internet mailing lists lack fundamental features such as access control and standardized archive maintenance. In short, the Internet mailing list world is a very primitive one... one which is in serious need of improvement. 2. Netnews groups and list server lists are closely related methods of group communication. While each has its own area of most appropriate application, their services are more alike than different and, in particular, they are nearly identical (in principle) at the user level. Consequently, eventual integration of their services is expected --- at least at the user interface level if not also in the very provisioning of the services themselves. 3. Implementation point: If the phase 2 world seems to require a new (transport-level) protocol definition, the burden of proof (that the protocol is actually necessary) rests with the Working Group. Attendees Thomas Brisco brisco@rutgers.edu James Conklin conklin@bitnic.educom.edu John Curran jcurran@bbn.com Johnny Eriksson bygg@sunet.se Erik Fair fair@apple.com Jill Foster jill.foster@newcastle.ac.uk Maria Gallagher maria@nsipo.arc.nasa.gov 1 Russ Hobby rdhobby@ucdavis.edu Neil Katin katin@eng.sun.com Vincent Lau vincent.lau@eng.sun.com Eliot Lear lear@turbo.bio.net Louis Leon osll@emuvm1.cc.emory.edu David Lippke lippke@utdallas.edu Daniel Long long@nic.near.net Joseph Malcolm jmalcolm@sura.net Keith Moore moore@cs.utk.edu Chris Myers chris@wugate.wustl.edu Mel Pleasant pleasant@hardees.rutgers.edu Harri Salminen hks@funet.fi Theodore Tso Gregory Vaudreuil gvaudre@nri.reston.va.us 2