Discuss is a networked, electronic conferencing system, which is
similar to bulletin-boards that have become popular on microcomputers,
except that it is accessible from time-sharing machines and
workstations on the network.  Discuss allows a user to attend a set of
electronic meetings.  Users may select ("attend") meetings, and read
messages ("transactions") that have been entered in those meetings.
Each meeting has a specific focus, such as a project, class, or
special-interest.  A user may choose to enter new transactions into a
meeting, either by replying to a previous one or starting one on a new
topic.

Discuss uses a client/server model of networking.  Discuss servers
actually store the meetings, while the Discuss client programs handle
the user interface.  When a user runs one of the Discuss client
programs, it contacts the various servers to manipulate the meetings.
Except in the case of network or server failuers, this division is
normally transparent to the user.

Because of the networked facet of this system, some sort of
authentication scheme is desireable.  If such a scheme is not used, it
becomes easy to generate fake electronic mail messages and enter them
as transactions.  In order to prevent fake transactions and to ensure
privacy, the Kerberos system, developed on MIT's Project Athena, is
used to authenticate user transactions.  Although Kerberos is not
completely impervious, it is the most secure method now available,
even if it is not the simplest.  For more information about Kerberos,
send mail to info-kerberos@athena.mit.edu

For futher information about discuss, please refer to the paper
``Discuss: An Electronic Conferenceing System for a Distributed
Computing Environment,'' presented at the Winter 1989 Usenix
Conference.  A postscript copy of this paper can also be obtained by
anonymous FTP from ATHENA-DIST.MIT.EDU (18.71.0.38) in
pub/discuss/discuss.PS.

Both Discuss and Kerberos are available via anonymous FTP from
ATHENA-DIST.MIT.EDU.  (Export restrictions apply to Kerberos.)  

Discuss is released "as is".  We hope that it will be useful.  It
carries the same Copyright provisions as Kerberos or X.  Since Discuss
has been a part-time project, the release is not as polished as that
of Kerberos or X.  Discuss was developed for 4.3BSD UNIX and has been
known to work on VAXen, RT's, NeXT machines, DECstation-3100s and
Sun-3's.  Bug reports can be sent to bug-discuss@athena.mit.edu.