(Note, I have directed this reply to the mhonarc-dev and mhonarc lists since mhonarc users may be interested, especially wrt the mhonarc plans mentoned below. Original author will receive a separate copy of this reply.)
On June 3, 2002 at 10:41, someone wrote: > What are your plans with MHonArc? I'd like to get all the folks > interested in improving the web archiving options for e-mail lists > together. Who else is a leader in this area? > > See all the junk below ... There was alot of junk :-) [To summarize in a nutshell, there is a start of a new project, <http://sourceforge.net/projects/archetype>, related to web-based email archiving a web-based discussion forums. Discussion started on [EMAIL PROTECTED] list.] Plans for MHonArc? First, I want to finalize the MHonArc 2.x codebase. MHonArc has been around for years, but it is straining the initial design due to the limitations that Perl 4 imposed when MHonArc was initially written (note, MHonArc does use some Perl 5 features as it has been enhanced over the years). MHonArc 2.x appears to be quite usable for many, but dynamic-type capabilities (like integration with a database) it was not designed for. So what I have been doing is modifying MHonArc 2.x to provide as much as it can to allow for custom hooks (like to a DB) by providing a public API for embedded usage (see MHonArc docs for some details). Unfortunatly, some design limitation are very hard to overcome. MHonArc 3.x is planned to be a complete rewrite of MHonArc using an OO model, which can be done with Perl 5. I have even thought of going to Java (for character encoding management), but would prefer to stay with Perl if it can support the new design. I actually made a start years ago, but stopped due to other priorities and interests. I have been thinking of restarting the initiative since I now have the MHonArc source under CVS at savannah.gnu.org. Plus, I currently have more time now to devote to such a effort. With the repository at savannah, it also makes it easier to bring on some additional developers (with the proper skills of course :-) One nice side-effect of not doing the work years ago is that the feedback for MHonArc 2.x has provided more things to consider in the MHonArc 3 design that may have been overlooked. I actually try to implement what I can in MHonArc 2.x and to use it as way to prototype some stuff. The primary goal of MHonArc 3 is to make it as modular as possible to allow for things like database hooks and custom filtering. I.e. MHonArc 3 would primarily be a library with a default application that functions like MHonArc 2.x for those that do not care about a programmable library. Initial thought on archetype project: archetype will probably have similiarities to MHonArc, but it appears to have overall different scope. For example, I could see archetype using MHonArc as component of the entire system. Other "leaders": The message you sent me appears to cover the major players. The only project I can think of that was not mentioned is Hypernews, www.hypernews.org. There is probably more that can be discussed, but I am not sure what the entire scope of the project you are trying to organize and how it will be managed. I have a suspicion that what you hope to achieve can be achieved by a collection of tools instead of single monolithic system. If the base requirements are written down and made available from the archetype project page, it will help others determine how existing projects fit, or don't, fit in. --ewh P.S. Have thought about what license you want to use for the project? Your choice could impact on what existing software you can leverage, unless you want to write everything from scratch.