Re: [avr-gcc-list] Suggestion for the list operators

[Jason Kyle]

Larry,

At 08:13 15/01/01 -0800, you wrote:
>This may be heretical to the crowd, but here goes anyway:  How about moving
>this mail list to Egroups.com?  I am on several lists and manage a couple on
>that server and it works quite well.  The BIG advantage is that you can
>control your email flow (digest, individual and web only) and it archives
>everything.  They also have what seems like bullet proof anti-spam.

Perhaps a vist to GNU mailman's home might enlighten you to it's
capabilities http://www.lists.org
I see nothing you mention as BIG advantages that mailman doesn't already
provide, with perhaps the exception of web based mail posting - although if
it was worth having it's not impossible to add to the server... but it's an
email list!
Spam is very carefully controlled too, so are accidental mail loops etc.

>But wait, there's more!  A files section for sharing stuff (limited to 20mb)
>and a few other, probably less useful, functions.

You said it, probably less useful :)  Just took a look at the avr egroup, 2
files and 5 links (1 non-commercial) are all that has accumulated in over 2
years, sums it up nicely.  20MB is probably enough for sample code files
etc, but as noted on the sign-up page for the avr-gcc-list we have an ftp
site for this kind of thing.  Over time i'm sure we will collect code
examples and other goodies in a structured manner.

>Egroups is easy: www.egroups.com, register, create a group, submit a list of
>members and you are done.  If the moderator of this group does that, then
>adds several other members to the moderator list, we shouldn't see the kind
>of "information outage" we saw with the old avr-gcc list last fall.  If one
>person disappears into work, or what-ever, another can take over (not that
>there is much to do once the list is set up...)

Go read the terms and conditions for egroups.  I carefully considered using
egroups or listbot before deciding to setup a private system.  The events
that led to the demise of medo.fov.uni-mb.si/mapp and it's mailing list
(it's back online now but minus the mailing list) were unfortunate but not
catastrophic as you can see by the mailing list you are subscribed to now.
If there comes a time when for reasons way out of my control the mailing
list looks like it will cease to exist I will ensure the relevent
information is passed onto an appropriate successor.  Under prolonged
absence conditions list administration duties would be passed onto another
list member, secure list admin via https is available.

Egroups make no commitment at all to even provide service beyond today and
with the way these companies are traded for what I can only describe as
their "private" information (your deatails) it would not surprise me if the
situation changed one day, it's a commercial operation. The Atmel list on
listbot.com has advertising messages tagged to the *top* of many emails and
according to the egroups T&C they can do it too, although listbot do allow
you to have them removed by paying a fee.  There's no such thing as a free
lunch!

In the interests of democracy I would move this list to egroups or similar
if the majority of subscribers considered it to be sensible.

Kind Regards,

Jason Kyle
avr-gcc-list administrator