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Newer status reports.
A Rust post last night had something in it (I know what it was, but don't want to publicize it since it might attract imitators) that Netscape Mail couldn't handle. At the point where that item appears in the inbox, Netscape would crash and burn. Note that it was NOT a malicious act (I don't think, unless the person knew this would happen -- but it DOES appear to be an honest mistake).
If it's happening to YOU right now, and you came here to see what happened, send me a note and I'll let you know what the problem is. If your only mail system is Netscape (i.e., if I can't send mail BACK to you due to the inbox problem) include your phone number in the note to me and I'll call you back and help you recover from it.
As a side-effect of this, I lost a number of pieces of mail from last night and this morning. Anyone who sent me direct mail last night or this morning, please resend.
Always something to make a Sunday morning "interesting".... :-)
. . . RE*AC*TOR
Since the server load on the donated home of the Rust Short-Term Archive has been manageable, that archive will be expanded to hold the previous 100 digests (was 50). Effective immediately, the oldest digests (currently #250 is the oldest there) will not be deleted until there are 100 digests present on the archive.
That's about a month's worth of digests. So now, when you're away for a couple of weeks, you can still get to the material you missed without having to rush.
You can always find the link to that archive from the
Rust List page of HyperRust.
. . . RE*AC*TOR
Today sees the distribution of Rust Volume 4 Digest 272. There were 228 digests in Volume 3 (the Pobox "years" :-). So this is the 500th RE*AC*TOR digest. That's almost a fifth of the way to the number of digests from the Dan years (there were 2688, many of which were half the size of our digests -- and the last 400 or so were actually issued under Muffy).
Despite recent events, I plan to be here plugging away to Digest
3000 and beyond. With all the YOUNG-bloods adding new vitality to
the list, Rust will always be THE International On-line Neil Young
Community. Thanx to ALL of you who continue to keep the Rust flame
burning...
. . . RE*AC*TOR
(Did I say "flame"???? :-)
The last 50 digests (about 2 weeks worth) are now being
kept on-line on the short-term archive. See
http://www.hooked.net/~dtr/Rust/Archive.html.
. . . RE*AC*TOR
With deepest thanks to David Schoenbaum (who has shared some of his personal net bandwidth with us), recent Rust digests will henceforth be available via the web soon after they're distributed by mail. I will copy each digest to his web storage as quickly as I can get to it after the distribution, and they'll stay there for about a week. If things go smoothly, we'll try to extend that to a couple of weeks' worth (for folks who take longer vacations).
Just point your browser at http://www.hooked.net/~dtr/Rust/Archive.html. If you have any problem accessing these files, let me know. Currently the digests after #200 have been placed out there.
NOTE: You can also find this link on the Rust List
page of HyperRust, so you don't have to post "Where was the archive?" posts
to the Rust List itself...
. . . RE*AC*TOR
After all the turmoil on Pobox (the 228 digests there seemed more like 500), this 200th straight digest without an error on Novia is HEAVEN. Only one bounce/reposted digest in that whole batch (it was a weird "small" digest that bounced and was small enough to defeat the "prevent bounced digests" filter). And I don't think there were any cases where the flow ebbed noticeably.
My hat's off to the Novia folks!
. . . RE*AC*TOR
The Rust List has now been on NoviaNet for about 3 weeks. There have been NO lost digests, they've all delivered in order, and no mail-bounce-loops have occurred. As near as I can tell, most all mail has been delivered pretty promptly, too. And the quantity of bounced mail due to a server inability to communicate with some subscriber's host has gone down considerably since the pobox-era.
Thus this will (hopefully) be the last piece of news here for a while...
. . . RE*AC*TOR
Henceforth do NOT use any pobox address at all! Instructions for
accessing Rust are here.
. . . RE*AC*TOR
At 3PM Eastern Daylight Time (adjust for your time zone) today, the subscriber lists for the Rust List, and the Rust Digest, will be moved to a new provider. The name will NOT be posted prior to the move, because I know that if I do, some joker will end up sending posts there before I get a chance to send the initial post that gives all the info about the new list. You don't really need to know ahead of time anyway, because there will be an overlap while both lists will be up, and the first post you receive from the new list will give you all the info you need.
If by some chance you unsubscribe after reading this note but before that switch-over (so that you don't get automatically moved to the new service) either check HyperRust (easiest) for the new directions or send me a note when you're ready to subscribe again. As a last resort, for some period of time you can re-sub to pobox and I'll see it and move you over (and let you know what you need to know at that time).
That's right, folks, rust will be "at death" not much longer... On Tuesday it will move to a new server, with competent administration, and without a major overload. Right now when I send a post there, it gets back to me in seconds. When we move our 900+ folks over there on Tuesday it won't be THAT fast, but I think everyone will be happy.
And as I said, it's "rust@death" no more.... "Death" is now part of history. From Tuesday onward, we're just "The Rust List". References to "rust@death" move into the Rust History books. Time to start working on new T-Shirts, bumper stickers, Tribute series, etc, etc. I know that a significant fraction of Rusties will be glad to hear this (being that they never have especially liked the "death" stuff). Others will be sorry to see the turn of the page. But we all have to move along sometime. I'll pass on more details on Monday. But be prepared - on Tuesday we move. I'll make sure that everyone is aware of everything that they need to know...
Jeez, what a trip this has been. When we had our last major hassle on pobox (their name server lost the route to death.pobox.com) while I was in New York for the SPAC & JB shows, I bit-the-bullet and went to a service that was recommended to me by a Rustie. They were expensive, but since they came highly regarded I told them "let's do it". Well here it is several weeks later and I had to say "so long!" to them because the guy there just doesn't know enough about running mailing lists to get us going. He never was able to get the digest going, and he was having problems with the "@death" requirement. Can't say I'm too disappointed because they would have cost a LOT (order of magnitude more than pobox).
So the next thing I do is find a more reasonably priced service and they tell me that our load will be no problem. Great, I sez, so let's get this thing set up. But then I don't hear back for a couple of days, then they act like having "@death" will be a problem, then they stop returning my mail! I was ready to pay EXTRA, beyond their advertized price, but they flake out on me.
So I hunt down another reasonably priced service and send them an intro note yesterday and I still haven't heard back! Welcome to the Internet, people...lots of people trying to make a buck, but not many of them who know how to run a business. Unfortunately, most of those who DO know how to run a business (ie, how to treat customers and potential customers) are also the ones who try to get big bucks out of you. Ferretting out those who both know how to treat customers, AND don't try to gouge you on cost, AND know what they're doing, is a major hassle.
So the jist of all this is that I'm still looking for a new place to move to. I hate the BS that pobox is giving us as much as anyone else on the list does. I too haven't gotten several digests lately. I want to move ASAP. And I will - - - as soon as I find us a new home.
I've given up on pobox. The rust list will move in the next few days. All subscribers will be moved to the new service and new instructions will be issued directly to their mailbox. If you are unsubbed, check here for the new instructions.
When this happens, the switch-over will "overlap" (i.e., both services will be
used for a short time). There should be no "down time".
Keep an eye here (and on Rust) for more info as it is finalized.
The problems at with the "rust@death.pobox.com" address has been cleared up.
Resume using it.
There are problems at pobox with the "rust@death.pobox.com" address.
Send all posts to
rust-list@pobox.com instead.
After a weird problem involving a person named Russell Thomas who had a
mail alias of rust, it's back. Details are
here. See you on Rust!
There are just a couple of details to work out, but HyperRust should be back
up later today. You will get your first mail directly from the new list, as
soon as it is running (for regular subscribers) or shortly
afterward (for digest subscribers).
There have been some delays in getting the list set up due to the tech-support
(on the system to be used) person apparently only working the graveyard shift.
Thus my notes there during the day aren't read and responded to until the
middle of the night. But things are at the point now where they should
hopefully progress more quickly. I'm hoping to have things going by tomorrow.
Everyone who was subscribed will get a direct note when it's ready.
Dan Farmer is no longer associated with fish.com, and the person who runs that system has decided to shut down the Rust List without notice to us (though in all fairness, Dan was notified months ago and did not act). I have acquired the subscriber list and am attempting to find an alternate site for the list. I have not been able yet to locate Dan Farmer.
I will post further details here as they arise. Every effort at haste is being taken. Please do not send me mail about this unless you know where to contact Dan, or if you have access to a system that will run majordomo, listserv, or another mailing-list manager. If you can help, send me mail at reactor@HyperRust.org.
Newer status reports.