Re: [Exim] What do you want in a book?

On 2000-08-15 at 17:42 +0100, John Horne gifted us with:
> I guess it could likewise be argued what is 'sufficiently slowed' :-)

Dead. Which means that either the Internet is dead or Exim will become
dated.

Both technology and society change.

Technology change requiring changes in Exim: IPv6
Social change: spam

These are just two quick examples. But generally, as long as society
and technology are changing and evolving, software like Exim will need
to stay abreast of things and change and develop to keep up. This is a
good thing. I don't see that 10 new features obsolete a book. By that
metric, humankind shouldn't keep trying to write dictionaries and
encyclopaedias.

This does suggest one possible problem though. The Python community
found itself addressing a similar question about Guido van Rossum. What
happens if Philip Hazel gets run over by a bus tomorrow? Who is
familiar enough to Exim to pick up the role? Is this sort of longer
term stability something which should be addressed before committing
things to paper?

Nothing personal Philip - I'm hoping for a long life for you, because I
trust your coding more than I'd trust a bunch of five people chaotically
committing fixes. But it is perhaps something to ponder. After all,
there's a very strong chance that 50 years from now Exim will still be
in use as an MTA. There's no reason why not, as long as it keeps up
with change. The Internet's here for keeps.
--
"We've got a patent on the conquering of a country through the use of force.
We believe in world peace through extortionate license fees." -Bluemeat