Subject:      IMPORTANT: This newsgroup will be down for the next 5 days
From:         sysop@starlingtech.com (System Operator)
Date:         1997/04/01
Message-Id:   <3340c495.39957648@news.xmission.com>
Newsgroups:   alt.shenanigans


IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS
--------------------------------------

As announced two weeks ago, the alt.shenanigans newsgroup will
be unavailable for 5 days starting April 2, 1997 at 12:00 midnight
for a crucial system upgrade. If all goes well, the newsgroup will
be available again starting April 7th at 1:00am.

As most of you are aware, the alt.shenanigans newsgroup is still
hosted on the computer it was created on--an Atari 1040ST with
4MB of memory and a 105MB disk drive. This is hardly a state-
of-the-art system, and many of you have complained of system
slowdowns and outages.

This server has become slower and slower over the years as the
sheer volume of newsgroup subscribers increased. We have tried to
keep up by upgrading the modem from 2400 baud to 9600 baud and
by installing a second floppy drive, but these measures were
temporary. We've known for some time that a complete upgrade was
needed, and that time has now arrived.

The new machine, currently under test, is a state-of-the-art 200Mhz
Pentium Pro workstation with over 10GB of disk storage. This new
system will provide subscribers with the following new features:

- Much improved speed.
- If you are running Windows 95, you will experience less frequent crashes.
- The new "killfile" feature will allow you to create a list of users whose postings
  you do not wish to read.
- A new "reply to:" feature will allow you to specify an e-mail address for
  replies to your posting.
- The "distribution" feature will allow you to choose whether your postings are
  to be distributed locally or globally.
- A new "threads" feature allows you to read messages organized by subject.
- Those of you who are on the waiting list to be allowed posting access will
  be validated by the time the system comes back up.
- The subject filtering system will be fully implemented. This will prevent
  any postings which relate to parking spaces, laser pointers, or dormitories,
  as prohibited in the alt.shenanigans Terms of Service.
- Messages on subjects other than shenanigans will eventually be supported.
- The nasty "vegetable soup" bug has been fixed.
- The bug that causes the "Error 9704.1: Loop (R) Fail" messages should also
  be fixed.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your support and
understanding during this difficult transition. Our projections indicate that the
new alt.shenanigans server will be able to support the continued increase in
subscribers beyond the year 2000.

As always, we appreciate any and all feedback. Send comments to
sysop@starlingtech.com. Be sure to include your alt.shenanigans subscriber
number in all correspondence.

--
Michael Moncur                     "April  showers bring May flowers."
SysOp@StarlingTech.COM                       -- Winston Churchill
SysOp, alt.shenanigans             "Fools  rush in where angels fear to tread."
(801) 295-0020                               -- Yogi Berra

Subject:      Re: IMPORTANT: This newsgroup will be down for the next 5 days
From:         Joshua Ostroff <joshua@no.spam.please.mil>
Date:         1997/04/01
Message-Id:   <33414600.7EAF@no.spam.please.mil>
Newsgroups:   alt.shenanigans

System Operator wrote:
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS
> --------------------------------------
> 
[snip]

> As always, we appreciate any and all feedback. Send comments to
> sysop@starlingtech.com. Be sure to include your alt.shenanigans subscriber
> number in all correspondence.
> 
> --
> Michael Moncur                     "April  showers bring May flowers."
> SysOp@StarlingTech.COM                       -- Winston Churchill
> SysOp, alt.shenanigans             "Fools  rush in where angels fear to tread."
> (801) 295-0020                               -- Yogi Berra

Also - very important! - remember that an alt.shenanigans customer
service associate will NEVER ask you for your password.  Therefore you
should include your password in all postings to this group.  If you have
forgotten your password, you may obtain a new one by anonymous FTP to
shenanigans.gov; at the /usr/lib/etc/admin/home/temp directory, enter
the command PASSWD; then enter your old password (cAsE-sEnSiTiVe) and
enter a new password at the prompt.

Joshua Ostroff
Senior Vice President for Operations
alt.shenaningans.enterprises (USA)
(not affiliated with the newsgroup alt.adjective.noun.verb.verb.verb)
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