To:
cc:
Subject:
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I've added you to the xemacs-beta@xemacs.org mailing list.  The betas
are on ftp.xemacs.org in /pub/beta/.  To read that directory
you need to type this to your ftp client after connecting:

	quote site group xemacs
	quote site gpass zawinski	<---- this is a secret

If you're using ange-ftp, you can type that right into the "*ftp..."
buffer after the connection is made.

I've password-protected this directory because I don't want the
alphas/betas getting spread around too widely, and I want to ensure
that I have a way of communicating with all the users of them (the
mailing list).  Please don't inflict this version on anyone who isn't
prepared to start up a debugger and figure out why it crashed, and
please try not to let the source escape.

Simon Leinen maintains a mirror of this on liasun3.epfl.ch in
/pub/gnu/xemacs/beta/, with the same access restrictions.

There is also now a web page for the XEmacs betas.  The URL is:
      http://www.xemacs.org/beta/

You can use either 'xemacs' or 'xemacs-beta' as the username.  The
password is the same as the ftp site.

There are actually two mail aliases in use for the beta list,
xemacs-beta and xemacs-beta-discuss.  The -discuss address is used for
discussion of potential new features and changes to existing features.
You are not required to subscribe to this address.  If you would like
to be removed from it, send mail to
xemacs-beta-discuss-request@xemacs.org and ask to be removed.

There is also an alias xemacs-beta-patches.  A uuencoded version of
each patch is sent to this alias after every beta release.  You are
not automatically added to this list.  Send mail to
xemacs-beta-request@xemacs.org if you would like to be added.

Every time you compile one of the beta releases, please send mail to
xemacs-beta with the following information:

  - what hardware/OS you tried
  - version of X11
  - which libraries were used, and versions (Motif, Athena, Xpm)
  - whether you were successful; if not, what happened
  - whether you needed to make any changes
    my intent is that one shouldn't need to do much more than run configure
    with the appropriate options for your site and run make.  If you
    need to make more changes than that, we should try to get those changes
    into the standard distribution.
  - how much time you have spent running the beta recently; this is so I
    can have some idea of how much real use the code is actually getting

Please try to remember to send me this information each time you compile;
people often neglect to, which leaves me not really knowing how much testing
is going on (I can't really assume you've succeeded this time just because
you succeeded last time.)

Don't assume I remember what configuration you're using; I can look it
up, but it's much easier if you tell me again each time.

If you have to make changes, it's easier for me if you send patches
than if you just tell me what changes to make.  When sending me
patches, please use context diffs (diff -c).  Let me emphasize this:
PLEASE send patches in context diff format.

Any time you find a bug, try to reproduce it with -q.  

If it's display related, try it with no X resources loaded.  If the
bug goes away, try to narrow it down to the particular resource that
is problematic.

If you encounter any bug that you consider important enough to delay
the release, let me know.  I may have misunderstood how serious the
bug is.

If you report a bug, and I make another release which does not contain
a fix for that bug, remind me.  I may have simply not gotten around to
it yet, but I may have forgotten.  I try not to, but this does happen
occasionally.

It's best if you report your bugs to the list instead of to me
directly.  This prevents others from having to diagnose the same bug,
and also ensures that all the relevant people see the report.

If at all possible I recommend getting the full distribution instead
of applying the patches.  It's less prone to error that way, and
you're less likely to forget to tell me about other changes you've had
to make.

Thanks very much for your help!



			-Chuck
