\section{Discuss}

%Get something better from Richard

\subsection{What is Discuss?}

Discuss is a networked electronic conferencing system.  It is similar
to the 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.  Each meeting has a specific focus, such as a
project, class, or special-interest.

Users may select ("attend") meetings, and read messages
("transactions") that have been entered in those meetings.  A user may
also enter new transactions into a meeting, either by replying to a
previous one or starting one on a new topic.

\subsection{How do I create a meeting?}

If you are on the correct ACL (which in this case is a file in
/usr/spool/discuss on the discuss server) then once you're convinced
that setting up such a meeting is worth the trouble (and that it
doesn't gratuitously duplicate an existing meeting) then you simply
run ``mkds'' and answer it's questions.
	Getting on the ACL usually requires convincing the people
with access to change it that you've got reasonably good judgement.
	SIPB runs two discuss servers: charon and beacon. Both can
feed mailing lists into meetings as well; find the lines in the
aliases files that do ``dsmail'' already.
	If you want broadcast zephyr notifications from a meeting, it
has to be marked public and have * on the ACL; if it isn't, then
notifications will go to each individual on the ACL.