Path: csiph.com!weretis.net!feeder8.news.weretis.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Tim Rentsch Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: A request, and a question Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2024 19:31:39 -0800 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 36 Message-ID: <86r0hzbip0.fsf@linuxsc.com> References: <86h6ixcj2c.fsf@linuxsc.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="e3f3945cb7164e1654b6d005c9df0f57"; logging-data="895196"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19mggpahk0uDn1QuNuA9P0+nVj+7BihRvs=" User-Agent: Gnus/5.11 (Gnus v5.11) Emacs/22.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:KVJTSzEjMqZLSS1EFy8Gs/BNHGY= sha1:2b798QrHoOPyQuBTTY4MpVLqfao= Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.c:381218 Anthony Cuozzo writes: [..what is topical in comp.lang.c?..] > I think it would make sense to expand the official scope of the > newsgroup to any topic related to C, even funky half-baked K&R-era > implementations on long-dead architectures. > > I don't see why a question on, e.g., x86-64 SIMD instructions > would need to be off-topic here if the OP is using a C compiler > with builtin functions for them. Topicality is not binary. No matter where the boundary is drawn, there will be postings that fall somewhere outside of it. And that's okay. That said, some issues are pretty close to the main body, and some are clearly outside. It isn't just if, but how often, how much, and how long. Some off-topic threads go on at great length for dozens of postings or more. If someone has a short question about compiler-specific intrinsics, that should be okay. On the other hand, there are a few bad actors who will use any excuse to go farther and farther into left field, to the point where any connection to most people who visit the group has long since disappeared. (Even worse are the offenders who will talk about anything that interests them but chastise others for topic they aren't interested in. No names but I think most people know who all fall into this category.) In short, I don't mind a fuzzy boundary, with the primary focus of the newsgroup being standard C, and with a normal distribution fall-off as the subjects get farther from the center. (And of course I know that there are people who will continue to talk about whatever it is they want to talk about, regardless of how much or how little it has to do with C. Nothing is ever going to stop them but it's good to call them out every so often.)