[A4] ADMIN: we're back

[Brett Dikeman]

Welcome back everyone- it's been too long.  Dan switched DNS over and 
we moved everyone's subscriptions as best we could to the new box.

First off- apologies if you were in digest mode and got switched to 
regular.  You'll obviously want to fix that quickly, before volume 
picks up again- the welcome email you got should have a URL to your 
prefs page- if you didn't get such an email, then bop over to 
http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/[list name goes here]/ and 
follow the directions.  Don't forget to try out MIME digest mode- 
some mail clients handle it very nicely, just as if it were a 
mini-mailbox. Which is nifty.

We're still fixing things- for example, S-car-list has a new list 
admin(gotta fix that!:-), a lot of lists don't have descriptions, are 
sporting those bloody annoying [listname] subject prefixes, etc.  I'm 
spending tonight on cleanup patrol.

Also- archives are hosed.  Big time.  Long story, sad ending.  We 
have backups but the tape drive isn't doing a very good job of 
reading them- if you have a big heart, work for a data recovery 
company or have access to a DDS3 drive in excellent condition 
mechanism-wise that you can lend us for a bit, please drop Dan a 
line(dans at audifans.com).  Well, not right this second, because his 
mail's not working on the new box yet we think <grin>.

Oh, and the marketplace needs to be moved I think- same for the 
registry.  Mark's been talking about something new+sparkly, we'll see 
what he's got(patience, grasshopper.)

What's new:

-faster server.

-exciting new Mailman interface features.  Check out your preferences 
page.  Honest.  Really.  Not make-your-night kinda stuff, but nice 
regardless.  Its kinda, 'make your hour' stuff.

-faster server.

-better bounce detection and simpler rules for auto-removal(list 
admins can now tell if you unsubbed, or the system unsubbed you, 
etc).  If you bounce for more than 5 days, you get unsubbed 
automatically, thems the breaks.  Just join up when you've sorted out 
your email :-).  The system now also employs some wonderfully fancy 
magic to nearly guarantee Mailman will be able to figure out bounce 
messages, which will be a godsend for us list admins- there are some 
horribly broken, evil mail servers out there :-)

-did I mention, faster server?  As in, 100mhz sparc processor to 3ghz 
P4?  As in, 5x the ram?  Etc.  Oh, and we won't be running out of 
disk space any time soon.

-delegation of moderation.  Listadmins can now set a separate 
moderate-only password and recruit people to help approve/process 
moderation items(I will be doing this for 200q20v, that's for sure!)

-oh yeah.  Faster server.  Watch those mailman UI pages load at 
lightning speed, baby!

Dan's off chasing a fuzzy yellow ball with a frying pan, but I'm 
cleaning up stuff as I run across it.  List admins, please drop Dan 
or I a line, need to arrange list passwords for you, help you fix 
your options(I picked what I think are sensible defaults, and will 
correct what I notice tonight etc.), help you cope with all the extra 
options, etc.

If you come across a problem, please hold back until tomorrow 
afternoon so we can get a chance to sort things out.  Problems that 
still exist after that are fair game to harass us about...

Brett
-- 
----
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/