Systemspace Network List Network Enhancement Idea 6 Quintuplicate 28 July 2021 [Replaced by NEI: 12] [Affected by NEIs: 9] [Replaces NEIs: 1, 3, 4] INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK ENHANCEMENT IDEAS 0. Changelog - There are now two secretaries, as agreed. - NEIs are sent out every Sunday unless circumstances require an expedited distribution at their authors' request. - NEIs now have the option of being written in plaintext or Enhanced Text Format. - The chief and deputy secretary both host NEIs. One version is official for plaintext NEIs, and the other is official for ETF NEIs. Plaintext NEIs are sent to the chief, ETF ones to the deputy. - The secretaries have the power to correct spelling and grammar, without changing the meaning. - Changes are made in phraseology. I. SSN-l SSN-l (Systemspace Network List) consists of all who are interested in reviving the Systemspace Network. Any member of this mailing list may at any time add any other person to the list. SSN-l makes decisions by consensus. II. Network Enhancement Ideas Information and ideas are imparted on SSN-l primarily through Network Enhancement Ideas (NEIs, pronounced "nays"). (Think RFCs, PEPs, or what-have-you). A NEI should try to be short and readable; beyond that there are no other requirements for content. III. Coordinating NEIs Two secretaries keep track of NEIs: a chief and a deputy secretary. Their positions are determined by consensus and rotate every 100th NEI: the current deputy secretary becomes the chief secretary, and a new deputy is elected by consensus. If no one is willing to be the deputy, the current ones remain in office. Quintuplicate and Yori are the first chief and deputy secretary. The secretaries are responsible for: - Making NEIs available to all members every weekend, unless their authors request, and circumstances require, they be expedited - Numbering and dating NEIs - Issuing an index of NEIs at the end of their term (and updating it once there already is one) - Correcting spelling and grammar in NEIs submitted to them, without changing the meaning The chief secretary will host the official version of plaintext NEIs, and the deputy secretary, the official version of ETF NEIs. Of course, each will host an unoffficial version of all other NEIs. IV. Format of a NEI A NEI needs the following, and no more: 1. The header Systemspace Network List Network Enhancement Idea 2. A title, which need not be unique. A NEI may be written in plaintext or as formatted text. If it is written in formatted text, it must be marked up in ETF (see NEI 2). Plaintext NEIs are sent to the chief secretary and ETF NEIs are sent to the deputy secretary who then sends them to the chief. The secretaries will assign a number and date to a NEI. The minimum length of a NEI is one sentence. NEIs may be reproduced at will unless their authors explicitly state they are copyrighted. A NEI should be cited as "NEI #" except where this citation would not guide the reader to the source. V. Subjects Covered by NEIs NEIs are the primary means of exchanging ideas, but they are not the only means. The NEI series is intended to be of general interest to SSN-l, and to advance the SSN in some way. As such, purely personal and private quarrels, long-winded arguments without new points or evidence, and simple comments on and replies to other NEIs are best dealt with by emails within SSN-l, not NEIs. Beyond this restriction, there are no others. Proposals for technical protocols, drafts of rules, and philosophical discussions are all acceptable, as are brief questions and statements, if their authors believe they deserve the attention of all members of SSN-l and think they will improve the SSN. In time, these standards (or lack thereof) may tighten. This is natural and acceptable. We all need a small group to bounce ideas off each other. Right now, SSN-l is that small group. If and when we get bigger, it may not be.