Re: [cobalt-users] The List Lives!

[Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Clark E. Morgan" wrote:

> > I host a few lists myself; I own the "email-lists.com" domain.  In fact
> > I host The Unofficial Official Cobalt Qube Mailing List on a Cobalt
> > RaQ3i.  The fact remains that if I were hosting the Cobalt lists, I
> > WOULD host them on their own system.
> 
> I probably would too, that's different from saying I'd use something
> else entirely.

Okay, good point <smile>.

However, the Raq is sold as a web-hosting appliance, if I were to be
hosting the Cobalt lists on their own machine, I don't think I'd use a
web-hosting appliance to do it.  Don't get me wrong, the RaQ is fully
capable of running high-end lists.  Whether it's capable of doing it
while hosting a few hundred sites depends on more variables than we'd
ever count.

> > The Qube's are designed as gateway systems for small business, and to
> > run small-to-medium volume intranets and internet presences (with the
> > right kind of connectivity); the RaQs are designed to handle a few
> > hundred low-traffic domains.  Just where do you see that the RaQ was
> > designed for email-list hosting?
> 
> This scarecely merits a response. First of all, this is the problem with
> snipping, that's not what I said, so let me reinsert it here:

touche!

> "Handling a low to moderately trafficked mailing list is a reasonable
> expectation of these machines, especially given that they ship with
> majordomo installed."
> 
> Additionally, this is from the Cobalt website summary dexscription of
> the RaQ line:
> "Email Services Services include mail accounts for each domain, automatic
> vacation responses, automatic forwarding and group mailing lists."
> 
> Additionally, my RaQ3i manual dedicates 3.5 pages to the subject. While it
> does not explicityly say "Go ahead and sign up a buttload of users", neither
> does it offer up any proposed limitations of the feature, nor any caveats
> about it's use.

When I got my first RaQ2, I called Cobalt, spoke to a sales
representative, explained that I was in the list-hosting business and
asked if the RaQ could do that kind of list-hosting with it's
installation of majordomo (I understand majordomo fairly well; I'm a
regular contributor to the majordomo list).  I was told that it probably
wouldn't fit my need.  So I continued to run my majordomo lists on their
own system while experimenting with my own (parallel) installation of
majordomo on my Raq.  Once I had my parallel installation running well,
I could host on the RaQ.

I understand that the RaQ majordomo installation has been fixed to some
extent, and that the RaQ's majordomo will now accept config file changes
without overwriting them, for example, but given the lack of
documentation on the specific majordomo implementation, I still prefer
my own parallel implementation when running lists on the RaQ.

> 1) The RaQs are perfectly capable of handling these lists.
> 
> 2) Cobalt at least inferentially suggests this to be so in at least two
> places that I found in the space of about 30 seconds.
> 
> Nothing I wrote was intended as a jab at Cobalt, or at you for that
> matter. I love mine and when I get a few more clients, I'll certainly
> buy into the line again. That said, I still think it is passing strange
> that they don't use their own stuff for the job, or would think so
> if I knew for a fact that they didn't.

Now that they've got the XTRs, maybe they will <smile>.  With or without
majordomo <smile, again>.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
nobaloney.net
P. O. Box 52672
Riverside, CA  92517
voice: (909) 787-8589  *  fax: (909) 782-0205