On Thu, 20 Jan 2005, Pete Weiss wrote:
> At 21:05 1/20/2005 Thursday, Winship wrote:
> > [log in to unmask]
> Any one besides me see that small irony?
That I use a commercial ISP for access? That ain't by choice, you know.
If you will recall (check the list archives) I started from tenet.edu
(Texas Education Network, $12 per year). TENET decided it would no longer
be an ISP, get yourself another one and *then* you can have a TENET
account, at a hefty fee increase. Pay for a separate ISP, and then pay
you for an account, when with a separate ISP I can access almost everything
you offer, for "free"? Don't think so.
So I switched to austintx.com, a local outfit just started by some former
state employees who took early retirement. That was fine for about five
years, then, well, I was the only one left who wanted this particular
access, they ain't going to offer it any more, my account terminated *now*
(they still owed me for near a month of service).
Ok, so did a lot of calling around, found only one, ccsi.com, which offered
what I considered essential (not a good service, but I put up with it as
haven't found anyone else). So, there we are, I run academic lists from a
commercial ISP which provides only the bare bones I feel I have to have.
I have accounts at several universities, and have had others, but to get to
them I have to have that initial access, which is through a local
commercial service provider for which I pay from my pocket. If I didn't
have lists to run I wouldn't pay. When I decide to retire from running my
lists I will cease paying for access.
So, yeah, I use a commercial ISP to run academic lists, but only because I
have no other choice, that I have found. You can find plenty of irony,
if you wish.
> Truth in e-mail: I have received an L-Soft T-shirt.
I was supposed to, back when Eric went commercial with L-Soft, but, well,
never did, it just somehow never arrived (I did follow up on it, trying to
find out why I hadn't received it, though I would never wear it, through
sheer perversity). Not that I mind as I would never wear it (I don't wear
clothes with the name of the product/company as a dominant "design"
feature, and almost never wear T-shirts).
Now, correct me, please, if I am wrong, but doesn't the LISTSERV (L-Soft)
distribution "backbone" depend largely upon academic sites (old BITNET/EARN
sites, by and large) to work? If that is correct, then aren't commercial
users of LISTSERV (and L-Soft) being indirectly subsidized by academic
sites, which are mostly funded by taxes? On the other hand, I imagine such
sites have unlimited, perpetual LISTSERV licenses at a hefty discount, if
they pay anything (I've never asked my site adminstrators about that,
though have about other costs. Hmmm, new question.) Still, you might look
for some irony there, if you wish.
Now, L-Soft does fund worthwhile lists, either free or at reduced cost. I
found the process for applying for such arcane, but, as Ben Parker
explained to me, that was probably because I knew too much (checking up on
things, trying to find addresses, using my knowledge as a longtime
listowner), that that system was set up for those who had never run a list
before who wouldn't know to, nor how to, check things in the same manner.
But, Eric Thomas intervened and made, considering what I was asking, a very
generous offer. I didn't take him up on it as it was a last resort offer
and the problems elsewhere were resolved, at least partially. It was a
generous offer and I did appreciate it. And, well, Eric has, over the
years, made a number of changes to LISTSERV because I made a pest of myself
about them (I've been a pest about other things to no productive result).
I suppose my main gripe about the awards is that most of them are for
things which I don't value highly, I don't see them as essential to a well
run list.
Getting back to being a pest, I would still like to see FUI/AFD in the UNIX
environment. With AFD one can sort of have two lists for the price of one.
Douglas Winship [log in to unmask] (could give some .edu addresses, but
ain't going to)
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