Just a few thoughts of calm in reply to the concerns expressed by John
Konopak.
1.) Leave server issues to the server operators.
There are many security issues involved in having a server. If you
have
put yourself in the business of running your own server - get expert
advice!! Otherwise, leave the server to the folks who manage it - it
is
their business to deal with these sorts of things.
a.) A specific sub-issue that might be of interest to the community
is the
notion of parallel hosting. Many web-sites are housed on two
separate
servers to increase reliability. I'm not aware of such an
arrangement
for a list-server - but there is always a first!
2.) If you rely heavily on email, get yourself several email addresses.
I
was forced into this mode because of the way computer classes are
commonly taught, but quickly learned that having several email
accounts
is very handy. It is commonplace for people to have a separate
account
for personal correspondence. Specific accounts can be used for
specific business (such as correspondence with students.) In that
way
you can manage a larger number of messages more easily. If one
system
goes down, you can simply switch to another temporarily. That is a
much
simpler alternative than to resort of FAXes, telephone, and so on.
3.) Of course, whatever is on your local computer is *your*
responsibility!! If
you receive email on your local PC - remember to backup!! Files like
your email aliases aren't normally thought of as data and so are easy
to
overlook. The probability of local computer crash is much higher
than a
problem out of the net - so user beware!
Hope this is constructive and reassuring
Peace be with all of you, Edouard
. - - - . . . - - - . . . - - - . . . - - - . . . - - - .
: Edouard Lagache :
: Division of Extended Studies :
: University of California, San Diego :
: 9500 Gilman Drive :
: La Jolla, CA, 92093 :
: elagache who-is-at netcom.com :
: http://members.aol.com/EdLagache/home_page.html :
:...................................................................:
: The Lagache maxim on the fate of traditions: :
: 50% of the world's problems are caused by the abandoning :
: of meaningful traditions. :
: The remaining 50% of the world's problems are caused by :
: refusal to get rid of meaningless traditions :-) :
: 1982 :
. - - - . . . - - - . . . - - - . . . - - - . . . - - - .