Fred et al ... Well said, well stated ... I'm just sorry I got in a hurry and didn't wait on the pixies ! Jane of Obion and Haywood. At 06:20 PM 7/20/98 -0700, Fred Smoot wrote: >Greetings > >This is a brief discussion of TNGenWeb server history to NOW. It is >presented here for the benefit of our newer volunteers. > >For those of you who know this, please exercise your delete option now. > >US Internet is the server for the TNGenWeb. It has been our server since >we started in 1996. USIT, as it is affectionately known, is a private >company located in Knoxville Tennessee. We can say that this arrangement >between TNGenWeb and USIT is a partnership between volunteerism and free >enterprise. > >The arrangement was established by our founding State Coordinator Billie >McNamara. USIT tells us now that it was established on an experimental, >"lets see how it works out," basis. > >>From last December, after Bridgett became SC, and for a few months >thereafter, we were not sure if we would be able to keep USIT as our >server. Our relation with USIT needed to be defined. > >To compound the question, USIT changed our account status, which, among >other things, generated a monthly bill. We did not need to pay this >bill, however, it did show USIT how much in retail terms they gave to us >each month. (Currently, over $700 monthly.) > >Billie McNamara, for some unknown reason was sent the monthly billings, >but she kindly forwarded them to me. USIT began to look at the billings >too, and realized that their service to us was considerable, yet they >received little for their efforts. > >Nancy Cole interceded on our behalf and made an agreement with USIT that >include a "Book Finder" link page, and most importantly NO pop up >banners, or any other kind of invasive advertising. Oh yes, we would >stay on USIT too. > >Strangely, I received a phone call from a USIT "advertising executive" >who had a great interest in the USIT logos that were in use on my pages >and pages of others. He did not know of the arrangement that had been >made. I gave him Bridgett�s and Nancy�s phone numbers. (This is called >the fine art of passing the buck.) > >Well, late last week, the chickens came home to roost. USIT needed their >logo on ALL our pages. > >Pandemonium is the appropriate word for the next event. In the process, >Nancy decides that it would be a cool thing to get her highly talented >son Jim Cole to write a script to handle the logo question. Then came >"whoops." The "whoops" is, nobody got notified. Hence the most diligent >of our CCs, like Athol Foster, got stung the worse because they were too >efficient. > >I have tried to consider the most appropriate way reprove our pixie >culprit, Willow Woman, aka Nancy Cole. I reckon that a one week >suspension without pay might be in order.(But then, who will do my >uploads?) > >And for Athol, who worked so hard to do the right thing, all that I can >say is, sorry buddy. The next time I�m in God�s Country (*Middle* >Tennessee) we will go down to Miss Mary Bobo�s and have dinner (that�s >lunch to you Yankees that hide in Connecticut). > >Some have asked, why do we not just go to Rootsweb. Well, for one thing, >they don�t like domain names. Yes they allow domain names for the >USGenWeb pages, but when Bridgett checked, they declined us that >privilege. They are not keen on graphics either, and we have a 60mg >Indian Treaty Map project in the pipeline. We don�t want to give >Rootsweb folks a conniption fit. > >But somewhere in the future, we might need to look at other options. >Maybe it will be Rootsweb, or our own private server, or maybe the >USGenWeb Project will have their own server for all states. "Don�t know" >is how I see our future, but one thing for sure, we are growing and we >will be best served it we think ahead. > >In the interim, the system pages are being revised so that if and when >we change servers, no one in the outside world will need to change links >to the project, and the internal pages will be movable without >rewriting. > >So in spite of the bumps in the road, we are moving ahead. > >Respectfully, > >Fred Smoot > > >==== TNGEN Mailing List ==== > >All URL's back to USGenWeb should read: >http://www.usgenweb.org > -- or -- >http://www.usgenweb.net > > >