On Thu, 27 Jan 1994 07:18:05 -0500 Roger Burns <[log in to unmask]> said:
 
>I currently own a small list whose  Listserv has a policy of sending all
>list messages  to another  "high speed"  Listserv for  distribution. The
>"high  speed" Listserv  has three  intervening nodes  between it  and my
>Listserv, and so given that there are  five BITNET nodes in all that are
>involved (the 3 intervening and the 2 endpoints), list mail is typically
>delayed  by 8  to 12  hours, or  sometimes a  day, and  may arrive  in a
>different order than posted, given that any of the 5 nodes may be slowed
>or stopped at any time.
>
>Is there a standard, brief phrase  that describes the practise of having
>Listserv mail standardly distributed by another site, or the practise of
>a Listserv distributing its own mail?
 
There is only  plain common sense. If  for any reason your  server is not
capable of  providing the level  of service you  want, it makes  sense to
pass the data  to another server that  can do a better  job, provided you
get permission from the  maintainer of that server (or if  you know for a
fact that the extra traffic is negligible, like 5-10 postings a day for a
core site).  But obviously if you  select a "high-speed" server  it takes
you 12h  to get to you  won't be doing yourself  a favour. This is  NOT a
normal delay for a BITNET link.  Anything beyond 1 minute per link during
normal conditions (ie not after a 2h network outage) is abnormal. Now, we
all know there  are undersized links which just don't  have the bandwidth
to  push the  traffic through  in a  decent amount  of time.  If you  are
connected behind  a site  with that problem,  you should  seriously think
about moving your line. With VMNET it is just a configuration change on 3
systems, the phone company doesn't get involved.
 
  Eric