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The Internet Informer Public Announcement
>From the desk of:
S t e v e n E B a k e r
Editor of:
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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)
