>From the desk of: S t e v e n E B a k e r Editor of: _____ _ ___ _ _ |_ _| |__ ___ |_ _|_ __ | |_ ___ _ __ _ __ ___| |_ | | | '_ \ / _ \ | || '_ \| __/ _ \ '__| '_ \ / _ \ __| | | | | | | __/ | || | | | || __/ | | | | | __/ |_ |_| |_| |_|\___| |___|_| |_|\__\___|_| |_| |_|\___|\__| ___ __ |_ _|_ __ / _| ___ _ __ _ __ ___ ___ _ __ | || '_ \| |_ / _ \| '__| '_ ` _ \ / _ \ '__| | || | | | _| (_) | | | | | | | | __/ | |___|_| |_|_| \___/|_| |_| |_| |_|\___|_| Public Announcement October 8th, 1994 "The Mailing List Problem" 1.1 : The Good News First I made a promise to myself and a lot of other people that the first issue of The Internet Informer would be delivered to each and every subscriber before the 1st of October (the official release date). On the evening of September 30th, 1994 I went through my normal routine of preparing for the graveyard shift at the chemical plant I work at. The only deviation from my established routine was just before I left my home, I walked into my office and booted up the ole' 486. I called my Internet access provider and sent a rather lengthy message (The Internet Informer October 1994) to a computer at North Carolina State University. That computer was running Majordomo software and it accepted my email with open arms, sending exact copies to all of the people that had subscribed to my magazine. Within a few hours the first issue of The Internet Informer had been distributed all over the world. The next morning my mailbox was full of email messages from happy and unhappy readers (you will see most of the interesting ones in the December issue) who had finished reading it. The number of subscription requests skyrocketed to around 200 a day and I enthusiastically sent sample issues to all who had requested it. These events kept unfolding everyday as I scanned my mailbox after work until Wednesday, October 5th. Around 5am in the morning my pregnant wife Tiffany went into labor with our first child. We left for the hospital and we stayed there until the evening of October 7th, Friday. I am happy to report we are the proud new parents of Brooke Savannah Baker -- a happy, healthy child of 7 pounds and a full head of hair. My wife did well, but had to go on special medication to offset her blood pressure rise. I stayed by her bed and read magazines and books on the Internet between holding my new daughter and sleeping. In seven days I had moved into a new house, published an electronic newsletter, and coached my wife through her breathing cycles as our daughter was being delivered. As draining as those events are, I still managed to check my email when I got home Friday evening. 1.2 : Then the Bad News Basically, The Internet Informer grew too fast too quick. Problems arose with a small percentage of the new subscribers -- some of the addresses were not working well with the mailing program. The mailing list grew extraordinarily fast and NCSU-Internet staff members became alarmed. The system administrator pulled the plug on the entire list and sent me a quick note in the mail telling me and my ever-growing mailing list goodbye. I have a partial record of the people who currently were interested in subscribing, and a lot of people writing me personally asking why my listserv doesn't work. The night before Tiffany went into labor I had hit a few Usenet Newsgroups with posts detailing how to subscribe to my magazine. Great timing, wouldn't you say? I am left without an efficient means of distributing my free magazine, other than manually mailing it to everyone. Disappointing as this is to me, I will still publish the Informer. I just have to adjust my methods a little, and hope for the best. I do not want to sound like a self-help book, but life is a series of changes and how well you adapt to those changed is related to how well you do in life. With that philosophy driving me, I came up with an idea. 1.3 : More Good News I am encouraged by the number of people that have sent in their donations, and would like to thank each and every one of you for doing so. The only reason I ask for donations is so that I can pay the writers. That's it. In fact, I have a standing offer to distribute my magazine for $100 down, and $17.00 per 1,000 subscribers per issue and I refuse to consider it. If I get a few hundred dollars in the mail, I will pay the writers what they are worth. With over twenty writers hacking at this newsletter, $1,000 in donations means $50 to each writer. I assure you I am no where near $1,000 in donations, so think about that when you see how much effort went into these articles. In order to serve the people who took the time to donate to this project and support the writers I have made some adjustments to subscription qualifications. The new guidelines are as follows: [1] Only donating readers will be included on the new mailing list. Donations can be of any amount -- no minimum, maximum, or donation frequency requirements. [2] The Internet Informer, being a free publication, will still be available on Alt.Zines, FTP aql.gatech.edu, and various other places around the Net/Usenet and BBS/Online world. [3] Individual back issues (October 1994) can be requested by mailing me at StevenBaker@Delphi.Com with the month in the subject line. Donating readers will get the current issue about a week or so before it is available elsewhere. Donations should be mailed to: ____ ____ Make Checks { )-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-( } Payable To The | : : | Editor: : | The Internet Informer | : | : P.O. Box 262 : | Steven : | Hitchcock, Texas | : Baker | : 77563 : | : | | : {____)-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-(____} 1.4 : Business as Usual! The December issue is in the works, with a few changes, a few additions, and a few deletions. Charles Deemer (Wild,Wild,Web!) has left the ranks to pursue a higher paying position and I am replacing him with a more technical column about Information Brokering and the Internet. Not many people are interested in America Online and Compuserve columns, so they might fade away. People want to know how to use the Internet for work and play -- not the user friendly online services. You will also see changes in the ascii graphics and the overall layout -- all from reader suggestion. I apologize about the change in the subscription methods, and I hope to see you on the list. I depend on many people to make this thing work, the writers, the readers, and our supportive friends. Thank you for your interest and your support. Look for us in December! See you on the Net, Steven E Baker (Dad)