Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 14:08:07 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>,
        WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Concerning the draft of WSFA minutes; WSFA lists
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

At 12:13 PM 11/18/2005 -0600, samlubell at verizon.net wrote:
>
>>So, is *Keith* "using" a wsfa.org address, or is *WSFA* using keith's list,
>>at his invitation, to have a place for members and ex-members to chat?
>
>The latter.  The address of this list is WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net.  There
may be a wsfa.org address that automatically forwards to this list but that
could and probably will change.

Exactly...but why should it need to change?  I think there's a major lack
of understanding of how this technology works, and that lack of
understanding is creating worries and perception issues that a greater
understanding would alleviate.  I urge those who have the authority to
consult with those who have the knowledge before making any decisions.

>>We'll need someone to take over Keith's
>>duties as contact, webmaster, etc.  (
>
>The secretary is in charge of all club publications.  He can delegate any
of these including the website to others.

Has the transition been accomplished?  I'm not talking about legalities
like who's "officially" in charge as far as WSFA is concerned, I mean
things like who knows the password to the ISP so that things like the DNS
settings for wsfa.org can be altered as needed, who will get bills for the
web service, etc..

Also, ICANN (the folks who control internet addressing) require that there
be an official registrant, administrative and technical contact listed in
the WHOIS database.   It's not an internal matter...coordination with the
businesses involved is needed too.  Has that happened yet?  No:

Domain Name:WSFA.ORG
Created On:07-Feb-1997 05:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:08-Feb-2005 21:36:39 UTC
Expiration Date:08-Feb-2008 05:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:CORE Internet Council of Registrars (R23-LROR)
Status:OK
Registrant Name:Washington Science Fiction Association
Registrant Street1:4030 8th Street South
Registrant City:Arlington
Registrant State/Province:VA
Registrant Email:abuse at keithlynch.net
Admin Name:Keith Lynch
Admin Street1:220 Cedar Lane, #62
Admin City:Vienna
Admin State/Province:VA
Admin Email:abuse at keithlynch.net
Tech Name:Lee Lee Howard
Tech Street1:9325 Glenbrook Road
Tech City:Fairfax
Tech State/Province:VA
Tech Email:nospam at asgard.org

That's an extract from the public whois database for wsfa.org's domain.
Keith is still listed as the administrator of the domain, he's the
registrant contact by e-mail person (though snail-mail goes to the
Gilliland's) as well as the administrator contact by e-mail person.  The
technical contact is Lee Lee Howard (not sure we've met).  It's worth
noting that if this information is not kept current and accurate that we
could lose the domain name.  That's network policy.

>>How is it better for WSFA to take on the task of running its own list,
>>rather than piggybacking on Keith's (so long as his invitation to do so
>>remains open anyway)??  I've heard no valid complaints about Keith's
>>management of this list...he's done a fine job, and I doubt we are going to
>>find a better or cheaper alternative anywhere.
>
>Simply that a list controlled by WSFA is subject to WSFA's control.  If
the club decides we want a moderated list or a members-only list, or for
the list to be closed for a month to stop flamewar tempers, we can on a
list we control.  But we'd have no power over a list run by a third-party
on his own equipment.

We control the wsfa.org domain (or will when the required changes to the
domain are done), and that means we control the MX record for the domain.
The MX record is what mailers use to figure out what mail server to contact
for a given e-mail address.  Since we can aim <whatever> at wsfa.org anywhere
we like, or nowhere, we control that address.  If we choose to leave it
pointed at Keith's list, and he permits this by accepting and handling the
mail as he's been doing for years now, that's WSFA's choice to make or
change at any time (subject to caching delays).

Since WSFA has -not- decided to make any changes to the sort of list we
want at this time, and Keith has offered to continue supporting this list
as it has been to date, I see no reason to change anything about it at this
time.  If we decide we want a moderated list, or an announce only list or
whatever, then the question can be revisited, and perhaps the MX record
will need to be pointed elsewhere...or perhaps not, depending on what the
needs of the decision are (for instance, a moderated list that's a sub-set
of this list could be done by forwarding all traffic from here to the
moderator for reposting as appropriate, and an announce-only list would
just be a more severely moderated list that only passes on announcements of
note).

In any case, once the domain info is updated to point to whoever will be in
charge of it in future, WSFA will be in control of the <whatever> at wsfa.org
addresses.  If you want to shut down that address, just change the MX
record.  Keith's list will continue on his address without interruption,
but the wsfalist at wsfa.org will no longer send mail there, but to whatever
you change it to.  If you just delete the MX record, mail will bounce at
the sender's mail server.

I doubt anything that drastic will be needed, as Keith is a very
cooperative guy, even after recent events, but WSFA will control where it's
address points, not Keith.  So long as Keith's list is available and
working fine, I don't see any reason to change anything.  He hasn't changed
policy on how the list is run or who can post to it or read it, so it
should be as acceptable as it always was.

>Absolutely, Keith has done an amazing job on this list.  It's spam free,
allows any current or former member to post using a variety of addresses,
and has no advertising.  The issue is not Keith, it's just a matter of
control.

If you are having control worries, I'd worry a lot more about Yahoo...read
their terms and privacy statements some time...anything posted there
belongs to Yahoo, and they can do pretty much anything they like with it.
Nothing posted there is limited to WSFA members or past members as Yahoo
employees have access too (at the very least), they can discontinue the
service without notice at any time, the archives of old messages can be
delted at any time, or used for other purposes at Yahoo's whim.  That's
what you give up for *their* brand of free list service.  Keith gives us
better than that for the same price.  To get what Keith supplies us with
from another provider is likely to cost at least a few bucks a month.

In any case, since Keith is still a WSFA member, the issue doesn't have to
be resolved between meetings.  There's time to investigate, learn, debate
and decide in a proper maner.

Feel free to share any of what I've said on any other WSFA venues you may
know about.  The more people understand, the more likely we are to reach a
good conclusion about this.

-- Mike B.

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