rfc585.txt

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Network Working Group                                         D. Crocker
Request for Comments: 585                                       UCLA-NMC
Category: Users                                                N. Neigus
NIC: 18259                                                       BBN-NET
                                                              J. Feinler
                                                                 SRI-ARC
                                                                J. Iseli
                                                               MITRE-TIP
                                                                6-Nov-73


              Arpanet Users Interest Working Group Meeting

   A new group, the Arpanet Users Interest Working Group (USING) is the
   outgrowth of a meeting held in Boston on May 22-23, 1973.  The
   meeting, cochaired by Dave Crocker, UCLA-NMC, and Nancy Neigus, BBN,
   followed BBN's Resource Sharing Workshop.

PURPOSE

   The USING meeting was seen by the members as a forum for Network
   Users to air complaints, exchange information, voice desires, and
   present concrete proposals for the design and implementation of
   user-oriented Network capabilities.

   The group will devote itself to lobbying on behalf of user interests,
   to promoting and facilitating resource sharing, to improving user
   interfaces (support), and to studies of standardization.  The
   ultimate goal will be provide users identification of, and
   facilitated access to, whatever resources on the Network they might
   wish to use.

   Neigus, Crocker, and Iseli of MITRE were selected to define the
   objectives and goals of USING in more detail, and they will present
   their discussion in a later publication.

ATTENDEES

      Dave Crocker, UCLA-NMC, Co-Chairperson
      Nancy Neigus, BBN, Co-Chairperson
      Ken Bowles, UCSD-CC
      Frank Brignoli, NSRDC
      Jim Calvin, CASE-10
      Jake Feinler, NIC
      Wayne Hathaway, NASA-AMES
      Jean Iseli, MITRE
      Mike Kudlick, NIC
      Mike Padlipsky, MIT-MULTICS



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RFC 585               USING Working Group Meeting          November 1973


      Lee Richardson, USC-ISI
      Ron Stoughton, UCSB
      Jim White, NIC
      Steve Wolf, UCLA-CCN
      Joe Wyatt, Harvard

CATEGORIES OF CONCERN

   The meeting began by attempting to create a relatively complete list
   of topics directly relevant to users.  The intention was to then
   discuss some of these categories in detail.  The categories of
   concern to users are listed here along with a brief outline of the
   discussion and recommendations associated with each category.  Not
   all topics were discussed fully due to time limitations.  It was
   acknowledged that some of the recommendations were quite extensive,
   but that they should be mentioned even though their implementation
   would be far off.

   1. Online and Offline Documentation, Information Sharing, and
      Consulting

      a. There is a general need to upgrade the quality, technical
         accuracy, timeliness, dissemination, and format of both online
         and offline documentation.

      b. Documentation should avoid "buzz" words (jargon), and should
         follow easily understood syntax conventions, abbreviation
         standards, reference citation rules, etc.  However, there
         probably cannot be a standard format for writing documentation.

      c. Offline documentation should be well indexed, should contain a
         good table-of-contents, and should be written in an easily
         browsable format.  Online documentation should be presented in
         a browse mode with well-labeled categories of information as
         well as a keyword search capability.

      d. Documentation should be identified with date/author/version
         information, particularly in large online documents, so that it
         is easier to keep the most current version of a document and to
         query the author, in the event of problems with the
         documentation.

      e. Network news needs to be gathered and intelligently distributed
         to users (Network PR).

      f. Users need several levels and styles of access to
         documentation, whether online or offline, based upon their
         experience, interests, and preferences.



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RFC 585               USING Working Group Meeting          November 1973


      g. Each server site should also provide some degree of information
         variety in online "help" mechanisms, tailored to fit the needs
         and experience of different user types.

         In addition, entering "Help" from the EXEC level of a system
         should direct a user to ALL procedural-type information.

      h. New users should be carefully introduced to the Network by way
         of a New Users Packet (NUP).  Since the MITRE-TIP group is the
         official contact for new users, they should design such a
         packet and incorporate suggestions from USING.

         This packet should eventually contain, among other things:

            a definition of, and introduction to the Network

            a list of sites

            step-by-step scenarios for accessing functional documents an
            related online items

            a definition of who can get on the Network

            some quick-reference charts showing a list of Network
            services available to new users

            and an introduction to Network groups, including USING, as
            well as the names of Network consultants, assistants, and
            the like.

      i. Information-accessing mechanisms should be provided for users,
         including interactive tutorials, user scenarios, and other
         training mechanisms.

      j. A Network-wide "who, what, where and when" information system
         should be implemented. (This was nicknamed the Network Yellow
         Pages.)  Discussion of support for such a system focused on
         obtaining some form of central funding.

      k. The concept of `Regional Agents' for collecting information for
         the Resource Notebook was discussed.

         Several felt that what was really needed was a `rebirth' of the
         original concept of Technical Liaison as the person who
         provides information to the NIC and technical assistance to
         users.





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RFC 585               USING Working Group Meeting          November 1973


         There was concern voiced about the number of people collecting
         information and the redundancy of the requests received by
         sites.

         There was also concern about what incentives there are (or
         should be or can be) for Liaisons to perform their tasks
         adequately by providing truly up-to-date and complete
         information (carrot vs. stick).

      l. Server Sites should provide a variety of consulting services to
         supplement `help' and general information services.
         Consultants could represent the whole Network, a group of
         sites, a single site, general areas such as software, or
         specific applications processes.  This could fit into the
         workings of the Network Servers Group.

   2. Standardization for the User

      a. If they so desire, users should only have to learn one
         Executive (command) language, rather than 20.  Rather than have
         every site change its interface to the user, it was suggested
         that there be a Network Common Command Language Protocol which
         is translated to/from the host's own Executive command
         language.

         As with FTP and RJE, a human user should be able to type in CCL
         Protocol directly, though many sites may want to allow a local
         user to type in their local Executive language, and then they
         will translate it into CCLP, for the foreign host.

         Any Network Common Command Language should be compatible with
         batch systems as well as with interactive systems, and should
         provide an effective means for batch job submission and
         control.

         Bowles, Hathaway, and Stoughton volunteered to outline specs
         for Network command language that would be compatible with
         ideas suggested by Padlipsky and discussed at the meeting.

      b. One of the functions to included in a Common Command Language
         is a simple editor, which Padlipsky has outlined.  The editor
         should be easy for users to learn as well as for servers to
         implement or interface to their own editors.








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RFC 585               USING Working Group Meeting          November 1973


   3. Status/Measurement of Site Performance

      a. A variety of performance measures, for the individual sites,
         needs to be derived, acquired, maintained, and made available
         to users.

         This could include some attempt to measure average "response
         time", relative costs (relative to type of task, that is),
         availability/reliability, etc.

      b. Mechanisms are needed for software certification and for
         measuring and verifying the accuracy and/or reliability of
         systems, hardware, protocols, applications software, etc.

   4. User Feedback Mechanisms

      a. There is a need for a uniform Network gripe/suggestion
         mechanism.  This should cover several types of gripes,
         including program bugs and service complaints.

      b. Each user registering a complaint deserves immediate
         acknowledgement and some indication of what, if any, action
         will be taken.