lynx-dev Request for vote - Fwd: Re: Free GNU/OSS Hosting

[Serge Munhoven]

Dear All

Though I understand from today's messages on the list that things are also
moving on Jim's side, I've got the following on mine (after seeing all those
starving mirrors :-) (See http://www.linuxbox.com/gnu.html as well as my mail
cited by Chris Gann below for details)

Any comments ?

 - Serge

PS: To put it clearly, there was no intention to compete with Jim

----- Forwarded message from Chris Gann <address@hidden> -----

>Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 19:19:09 -0500 (EST)
>From: Chris Gann <address@hidden>
>To: Serge Munhoven <address@hidden>
>cc: address@hidden
>Subject: Re: Free GNU/OSS Hosting

>Dear Serge and the rest of the Lynx development team,
>
>As an avid UNIX user for many years, I know the value of Lynx.  I first
>used Lynx on a DEC OSF/1 1.3 server in or around 1993 (maybe?  it's all a
>blur!).  Since then, it has become a most valuable tool for many system
>administrators and shell account users alike.  I personally use it for
>just about everything that doesn't require java!  Believe me when I say
>that your request to us was received with much happiness!  This is a
>project that we would not only be willing to host, but would also
>publicize as being one of the sites that makes us the most proud to do
>this.
>
>Our services have changed a little since our last site update.  We are now
>located in two cities, one is Pittsburgh, PA and the other is in Shelburne
>Falls, MA.  We would be willing to mirror at both locations, with two
>distinct IP addresses on two seperate servers, thus reducing the chances
>of downtime.  Your estimations are most likely correct in regards to the
>usefulness of a Website, however, an FTP site would be ideal.  We are
>willing to do both, and offer any other services you would find to be of
>interest.  This is the reason we're in this to begin with.
>
>Your project is one of the most respected around, and we would be in
>seventh heaven to be able to contribute a little something to it.
>(Personal Note:  I submitted a small patch to the project via email almost
>5 years ago and you still haven't got back to me <g>).  
>
>I understand the lynx.linuxbox.com statement you made.  I also own
>nebula.org, that's not really much of a help, I'm sure, but it would at
>least be able to be a good way to not designate lynx as being a linux-only
>project, because as you've stated, and I also know to be very true, Lynx
>is not solely for linux.  I'm not solely linux, either.  I happen to run
>BeOS, UnixWare, Solaris, Mac, Windows and IRIX.  Lynx is installed on all
>but Windows.  Windows isn't worth the time to ftp a compiler, even over
>T3.
>
>Anyhow, what this boils down to is that we'd be willing to help out and do
>our part.  We don't mind the traffic, and we'd be proud.  It's almost like
>back during the revolution when citizens would put up american soldiers in
>their homes and feed them, etc.  Being from Massachusetts, I still have
>some of that in my blood.
>
>The choice is now completely yours.  We are here, and more than willing to
>work with you!  Thank you for your email, and we look forward to hearing
>from you!
>
>--Chris
>& The Linuxbox Staff
>
>On Wed, 31 Mar 1999, Serge Munhoven wrote:
>
>->Dear Linuxbox staff !
>->
>->I am currently more or less passively (lack of time ...) involved in the
>->developpment of lynx, a tty based webbrowser. One of the problems we
>->recently ran into was the shutdown of the anonymous ftp service at lynx's
>->home site, www.slcc.edu. Though the code is still based and available there
>->via http (http://www.slcc.edu/lynx/current/), this had a quite annoying
>->consequence: many servers' ftp-mirroring simply stopped. Sad at a moment we
>->were trying to get a more comprehensive network of official mirror sites, in
>->order to increase availability and visibility of the project ...
>->
>->Since then (and even a bit before), negotiations have been under way with
>->various site-owners in order to find a new official ftp-server. The main
>->conclusions so far have been:
>->
>->- ftp.digital.com declared ready to mirror the distribution
>->(ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/net/infosys/lynx/current/), but mirroring broke
>->down (see above);
>->
>->- gnu.org had been a potential host, but there was insufficient unanimity
>->about RMS to more closely join the gnu project. Note though that, as far as I
>->understood, lynx *is* de facto GPLed, and anyway completely open-source and
>->freely distributable.
>->
>->As you can see what is really lacking is an *ftp*-site, more than a website.
>->I don't see a reason to leave http://www.slcc.edu/lynx/, as long as we are
>->welcome there, especially since this site is refered to in the documentation
>->in most of the versions of lynx floating around. Anyway, having a clone of
>->that site, e.g. as http://lynx.linuxbox.com, would IMHO not at all be a
>->nuisance. What would bother me a bit with lynx.linuxbox.com is that lynx is
>->not at all limited to linux (but neither is it to slcc.edu :-), and you'd
>->deserve a bit of publicity too for offering the hosting, wouldn't you ?)
>->Anyway, lynx.org & lynx.net are already registered by others, for other
>->purposes; lynx.browser.org is registered for lynx, but I don't know by whom,
>->nor where it is hosted, and the service is currently unavailable.
>->
>->You may perhaps want to have a look at http://www.slcc.edu/lynx/current/ to
>->get an idea of the volume that would need hosting (to which one could 
>consider
>->adding binaries of the most recent release for some architectures, though the
>->lot of compile-time configuration options makes this a bit useless; something
>->alike exists already at http://www.crl.com/%7Esubir/lynx/bin/).
>->
>->I'm looking forward to reading what you think about this all and would be 
>glad
>->if I could forward a proposal of yours to the critical eyes and voices of
>->lynx's volunteer developpment community ... (hey! no fear ;-)
>->
>->Best regards, 
>->
>-> - Serge
>->
>

----- End forwarded message -----