I am writing from one of the EARN sites that signed the EARN agreement and then went over to Erics 1.6. As I am the one that suggested that we change to Eric's 1.6 and the information I had at that time showed that there should be no problems, I now would like some more information. ....................... >3) An EARN site running as backbone server must run LISTEARN. .............. This is the right interpretation. If such a site does not implement the directive, the BoD will have to decide if sanctions must be taken, and which sanctions. This obviously cannot be to force it off EARN, nor removing it from EARN's tables. It might be (but this is just a personal guess) removing from the LISTEARN backbone. ....................... >light of this we signed the 1.6 contract on Sep. 27th --- only to hear about >the directive on Oct. 16th. The draft directive was drafted and adopted by the NOG on October 6th It was proposed to and adopted by the BoD on Oct. 19th. ....................... We are running 1.6 as a backbone site, we were not a backbone site under the LISTEARN agreement. Does it matter if we signed the 1.6 agreement before or after the drictive was adopted the BoD or not? Just were does this put us. We started requesting a Listserv at about the same time that the problem came up between Eric and EARN. If we could have gotten it at that time, the chances are that we would have run it with no changes. As it was, we received Listserv from Turget just before we received our upgrade from VM Rel 4.2. We were looking at receiving Rel 5.5 and as you know, the EARN Listserv at that time would not work at that release. ( Although, once we received it, it was only Rel 5.0. It seems, like Listserv, at the time we ordered it, 5.5 was not available to us and IBM did not think that we would want to newer release. Now we wait again. ) For that reason we requested for the 1.6 from Eric. Just like any software product, you always look for the one that is best for the configuration that you have, plus any changes that are just around the corner. At the time we changed over from EARN to Eric, it was the best choice that we had to keep listserv up and running. We had waited to long to receive it, to loss it now. Just an additional note, we have been talking about VM/XA if not Rel 6 next. Turget, just what is the plans for your Listserv? I know you have problems with site to test on, what about some of the sites that are now lost to Eric. One of the major walls of our time is now coming down in Germany, is there any chance that the wall between Eric and Turget (EARN) will also come down? I do not think that a site should have to try and make a choice between two software products that at one time did the same thing. If this keeps up, we will need to have another list just to give both sources a chance to give a sales pitch for why one should take theirs over the othere. I do hope this is a free world that will let a site have a choice over being told what they must have due to there location on the face of this world. Only people can relocate, not countries. What I have said is all upon myself. This may or maynot be agreed by the Powers to Be for the country that I live in, nor the Insitution that I work at, nor the center that I work in, nor anyone else that may be brought into this. Regards, Al Hartshorn