On 21 Dec 20  11:22:58, Joachim Probst said the following to Maurice Kinal:

JP> Being a few days in hospital I will take the first post to answer. As we ha
JP> seen, backward compatibility is always a problem with old software. But wou
JP> the solution not be, simply defining a new version of the pkt-format? The

This has been brought up so many times over the years... and beaten to death.

There is very little software in use that can be updated to a new packet 
format. Many Sysops prefer running software that is either abandonware or 
cannot be updated any further.

We have self-appointed experts who believe in dumping everything for new 
software but go to crickets chirping when asked "who enforces this". There is 
no longer any real means to tell a Sysop that they must use something newer. 
There is no requirement for anyone to use something newer.

Therefore at this point, new structures is a whimsical fantasy. At best, we 
are stuck with kludge lines to add anything new.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2