<div dir="auto">If Patrion has tought us anything, it’s that it's ok to expect users to pay for the privileges they use. How about setting up a GoFundMe for $500. If enough of us contribute, we can make the <a href="http://groups.io">groups.io</a> or the MailMan III thing happen. Also, I think most of us can afford a couple dollars a month to keep the lights on. Maybe you could add a donation page to the site, and have the server append an "if you'd like to donate" message to the bottom of emails. </div><div dir="auto">I very much appreciate the site and the list, and would be willing to kick in a few bucks to keep it going.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I have just one request. If you shut down the list and/or the site, please compress all of it and put it in a couple places, <a href="http://archive.org">archive.org</a> and somewhere else.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Here's a third idea, use one of your Apple II computers to create a telnet BBS. BBS software from that time is available, including accessible ones, there are modern day BBS programs for the 6502 also, though I don't know which are accessible. You could either put directions on the current site, or maybe someone has a corner of a server you could put it on. </div><div dir="auto">I don't know if any of these ideas is useful, but if not then I hope they lead to ideas that are.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Also, thanks for the heads up. Finding out a favorite site/list is no more would be a surprise I'd rather skip.<br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 8:32 PM Jayson Smith via BlindApple <<a href="mailto:blindapple@bluegrasspals.com">blindapple@bluegrasspals.com</a>> wrote:</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204)">Hello,<br>
<br>
For the past several months, I've been putting off writing this Email, <br>
but tonight I decided it was finally time.<br>
<br>
I run two relatively low-traffic Email discussion lists on this server, <br>
Blind Apple, for discussion of Apple II computers as used by the blind, <br>
and DECtalk, for discussion of the DECtalk speech synthesis system, in <br>
all its various hardware and software forms. If you're receiving this <br>
message, you're on one or both of these lists.<br>
<br>
I've been running these lists for around twenty years now. When I first <br>
started running mailing lists on my server, it seems the Internet was <br>
more forgiving in some ways. Running your own Email server was a cool <br>
thing to do. I was on top of the world, running mailing list management <br>
software (Mailman) on my own server, so I had complete control over how <br>
everything was handled, etc. Now, not so much. Running your own Email <br>
server is definitely not the cool thing to do any more, and Mailman <br>
version 2, which I'm still using, has been end of life for a few years <br>
now, as far as its development and maintenance status is concerned. And <br>
yet, as little traffic as these lists get, it hardly seems worth <br>
upgrading to Mailman version 3, especially considering that I'd also <br>
need to find and pay for a reliable outgoing Email server which is okay <br>
with handling mailing list traffic.<br>
<br>
Okay, I know what you're saying. "Just move to Groups.io!" That's <br>
actually an excellent suggestion, and I have several other lists hosted <br>
there. The problem is that they want a year's subscription to their <br>
Premium plan up front in order for me to import all the existing group <br>
members and message archives. That's $220, so since there are two lists, <br>
that's $440. I'm not sure I want to put that much money into these lists <br>
out-of-pocket. Another option would be to create the groups at <br>
Groups.io, invite all existing members (that's all you can do for free, <br>
as direct adding requires a subscription), and whoever joins, joins, and <br>
people can talk. But then, the archives from before the move to <br>
Groups.io stay at <a href="http://bluegrasspals.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">bluegrasspals.com</a>, and it kind of seems clunky to have <br>
two sets of list archives.<br>
<br>
Something will need to definitely happen within a year or two. At some <br>
point I'll have to upgrade my server to a Linux distribution that <br>
doesn't have Python 2, and without going through all sorts of hoops to <br>
install this outdated software, Mailman 2 won't run. So I need to decide <br>
what to do before that happens.<br>
<br>
I'm sorry this Email seems a bit disorganized. If anyone has any <br>
thoughts, or can think of any other options for keeping these lists <br>
moving forward, feel free to let me know. I just want to know your <br>
thoughts as to whether you think I should move the lists to Groups.io <br>
without archives, shut them down, or something else.<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Jayson<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
BlindApple mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:BlindApple@bluegrasspals.com" target="_blank">BlindApple@bluegrasspals.com</a><br>
<a href="https://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/blindapple" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/blindapple</a><br>
</blockquote></div></div>