On Thu, 17 May 2001, Jeff Waugh wrote:
> > Well, it'd be nice if the fscking list admins bloody well TOLD us about
> > it.
> > How hard is it to do a simple cut and paste of the unsubscribed addresses
> > and send a courtesy email to everyone hit by the event saying simply
> > "You've been unsubscribed because of XXXX"?
>
> Mostly because a huge raft of mailboxes being automatically unsubscribed
> from the list would indicate a serious problem, and sending email to the
> addresses involved would probably be completely useless. Certainly, we could
> have waited a number of days. You're welcome to give us your mobile number
> for future problems...
Feel free to go for it. Mobile number follows in private email.
> > And before anyone says "Didn't you find it unusual?" no, I didn't. The
> > number of times in recent memory that the list has gone down for periods
> > of time, only to come back with a sheepish "Sorry, it was broken again"
> > message is beyond my ability to count on my fingers. I simply assumed this
> > was another case, hence my message.
>
> But is is better that we make everyone aware of when the list is back up and
> why it was down in the first place, than to shirk the courtesy, isn't it?
I'm not denying that at all. I'm simply saying that mass unsubscribes at a
time when there is known, documented unreliability which may lead to
misunderstanding shouldn't be done without notifying the people
unsubscribed.
Hell, even a note on the web server {and yes, I looked} would have given
me more info, and resulted in me not having to plaintively cry "Is the
list broken again?".
> The unfortunate troubles we've had with the SLUG machine have been due to
> major network outages at Optus, and a lot of work going on at UTS with both
> their network, and buildings (so both network and power outages).
Again, I don't deny it - I attend UTS as a student, as well as work in IT
professionally, and am well aware of the "legendary" reliability of the
Optus network.
> We have done the absolute best we can to make sure the SLUG machine is up
> and happy, regardless of problems that are out of our control, and been
> quite open about any problems that we've had.
That's the point - you _weren't_ open about this problem.
At no time do I recall discussion of mass unsubscribe if my mail server
happens to be down for an hour or so - and an hour is all it was, since I
complained bitterly to Zip's support afterwards.
> To quote the mailing list FAQ: "Please remember that the SLUG mailing list
> is driven by volunteers - not cron jobs - and they do take flames
> personally."
Please remember that most of the good stuff that comes out of SLUG is
offered by volunteers - without whom there'd be no point in _having_ a
mailing list.
> [ As a side note, I have changed the MTA on the SLUG machine from exim to
> Postfix, and hopefully the performance increase has been noticeable. I'm
> sure DaZZa noticed that the list didn't completely fall over and die during
> this changeover. ;) ]
How would I notice? I wasn't subscribed at the time.
If the load is getting too much for the admins of the mail/web servers,
then ask for help - I'll gladly offer mine, and since I attend UTS at
least once a week {this semester - it'll be 4 times a week next semester},
I will gladly offer my meager talents wherever they may be of use.
DaZZa
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