[Public-List] Alberg 30 forum

Wed Oct 14 18:50:25 PDT 2015

Thanks, all, for your votes of confidence.

  - George

On 10/14/15 7:59 AM, Gordon Laco via Public-List wrote:
> For my part, I have to say I'm unmoved by pursuit of increased efficiency.
> I like our list as the rambling conversation it is.
>
> If we all lived closer together, I imagine we'd talk about what we do over
> beers in the local pub or at a sailing club... But we don't, so we chat this
> way.
>
> I like it.  And I have to say that the load George carries making it all
> happen for us has been largely invisible to me - so George, thank you very
> much.
>
> Gord #426 Surprise
>
>
> On 2015-10-13, 11:11 PM, "Jay Davenport via Public-List"
> <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:
>
>> George,
> Most Alberg 30 owners have had the benefit of your list and website
>> for many years. It has also been recognized by the general sailing community
>> as one of the best One-Design sites available.
> The Alberg 30 community, and
>> our boats, are unique in many ways, and do not have to follow the vagaries of
>> a constantly changing world. The relationships in our family, some of which
>> are decades old, and our boats, are a constant which we all can rely on. The
>> A30 website is part of that dynamic.
> None of this means that there can't be
>> improvement in how things are done, but it does mean that it would be
>> ill-advised to jettison a long-term successful website format for a new,
>> untested (and perhaps unwanted) replacement. Although some of those who
>> support this change may be willing to commit to operating it for the next two
>> decades, I, for one, would prefer to see the existing website (which is first
>> rate) and the existing Administrator (who is first rate) continue to provide
>> this sailor with the advantages for which the site is so well known.
> I know
>> that you will keep an open mind about improvements, but web safety and privacy
>> issues should always be in the forefront.
> "If it ain't broke, don't fix
>> it." Jay Davenport
>
>
>        From: George Dinwiddie via Public-List
>> <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
>   To: public-list at lists.alberg30.org
>   Sent:
>> Tuesday, October 13, 2015 9:53 PM
>   Subject: Re: [Public-List] Alberg 30 forum
>
>>
> Michael, et al,
>
> On 10/13/15 5:03 AM, Michael via Public-List wrote:
>> They
>> come and they go. The Alberg 30 list endures. Thanks George.
>
> You're welcome.
>> And thank you for lifting my spirits.
>
>> Knowing at least one thing I am
>> subscribed to can't install binary
>> malware means a lot to me.
>> Keep the
>> subject line relevant to the discussion at hand and i don't see
>> the problem
>> with confusion (in searches or otherwise).
>>
>> MichaelGrosh
>> #220
>> I would
>> like to see the collaborate/wiki doohickey pages used more.
>> that's a tough
>> nut to crack. lots of potential there.
>
> You were, I think, the only one other
>> than me to create pages in the
> "collaborate" section. Unfortunately, it's
>> down for the count at the
> moment. A combination of years-long persistent
>> onslaught of vandals, and
> an upgrade by my hosting provider that left me
>> without a simple
> migration path. Until I figure out a way forward, it's
>> defunct. Leaving
> it up was jeopardizing the rest of the website.
>
> As of this
>> morning, 376340 different IP addresses have tried to create
> logins for it, I
>> presume these are mostly automated bots. I gave up many
> months ago blocking
>> IP addresses after blocking over 100000 of them. The
> CPU usage just to refuse
>> their connection was overwhelming when there
> were several per second. When I
>> was actively fighting this problem, I
> was spending a dozen or so hours a week
>> on it, for months. I had to
> throw in the towel. The spammers are quite
>> persistent. Even though it
> hasn't worked for about a year, there were 883
>> attempts to create an
> account in 24 hours yesterday. At least it's slowed
>> down a bit.
>
> People complain about not being able to send photos on the
>> mailing list,
> and suggest a web-based solution to that problem. They ignore
>> the fact
> that the alberg30.org website already has the ability to post
>> photos.
> I've mentioned this numerous times on the list. It does require a
>> login,
> which I will gladly create, but that keeps out the spam bots that have
>>
> infested the wiki. Very few people have contributed. You can visit
>>
> http://www.alberg30.org/gallery/ to see what's there.
>
> Yes, I know there are
>> newer things than email lists. Web forums are so
> terribly new, however. Some
>> of us remember Compuserve forums, and find
> web forums to be a pale reflection
>> of them. When I was an assistant
> sysop on Compuserves sailing forum (a.k.a.
>> the Online Yacht Club), it
> was considered poor taste to troll another forum
>> to entice members to
> leave it for some other forum. There are things newer
>> than online
> etiquette, too.
>
> I'm not terribly interested in what's new and
>> what's obsolete. I note
> that sailboats have been an obsolete form of
>> transportation for a very
> long time. Yet they provide me with a certain
>> amount of pleasure, and,
> with care, safety. Pleasure and safety are my goals
>> with the website and
> mailing list.
>
> I've been running the mailing list for
>> over 17 years, now, and the
> website for 20. I've been especially careful
>> about security. I started
> this list on one-list, which was bought by egroups,
>> which was bought by
> yahoo. Yahoo started adding webbugs to the emails so they
>> could track
> who opened emails when. I didn't like that, so I left the free
>> email
> services and ran my own list. This seems so quaint today when large
>>
> corporations lose millions of credit cards at a time, but I still care
> about
>> providing a safe environment for people who want to focus on
> sailing rather
>> than web security. As a sailor, I've seen how a little
> inattention can
>> suddenly become life-threatening.
>
> I'm comfortable with the choices I've made.
>> If others want to make other
> choices, that's up to them. I really do
>> appreciate the kind words of
> support. There have been many days when I've
>> wondered why I'm still
> doing this, and those words remind me of the
>> answer.
>
>    Fair winds,
>      George
>

-- 
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   When I remember bygone days                         George Dinwiddie
   I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
   So many I loved were not yet dead,           http://www.Alberg30.org
   So many I love were not yet born.                          also see:
                'The Middle' by Ogden Nash     http://idiacomputing.com
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