telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (05/08/89)
Last week was 'the week that was' here at TELECOM Digest headquarters. The machine we had been using to produce each issue of the digest (gamma) is being taken out of service, and replaced by a machine called 'delta'. Needless to say, nothing ever goes off without a hitch. We issued Digest #155 on Monday last week, and #156 on Tuesday, only to find on Wednesday that neither issue, #155 or #156, had made it out of the computer room, let alone getting to the subscribers. The dilemma, as it turns out, and if I correctly understand what Postmaster Gore was telling me is that the list channel worked fine on 'gamma', but had some serious problems relating to 'delta', and the 4.2 software it is running, until 4.3 becomes available to us sometime in the near future. Nothing would work to get the Digest out. No amount of pushing by hand did any good. It just wouldn't leave. Certain other systems, like bu-cs.bu.edu, where the archives are stored would hang up on us as soon as a call was made. No attempt was even made to mail out digests Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Saturday afternoon a 'real expert' looked into the matter and provided some patches which would work in the interim. These patches consisted mainly of putting the list channel back on gamma -- where it had always been before, and where it had worked fine -- and tricking the mailer handling the Digest into going over to gamma and then out. Even those patches did not work exactly right, which is why some of you got three issues of 155 and 156 delivered during the day Sunday. But we *think* everything is in place now, at least until the Encore people supply Postmaster Gore with what he wants to do the job right. And I guess the 4.3 software is on the way also -- one of these days. That is why your last Digests arrived about a week ago until you got the two issues (and multiple copies of same) sometime Sunday. As jsol always tells me, mailers are fun! It's a new week, virtually a new month, and spring is here. Let's try again! Patrick Townson