Organization: State University of New York, Stony Brook
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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.cinema-l
Date:         Tue, 26 Jan 1993 18:47:56 -0500
From:         MDESCHUYTENE@SBCCMAIL.BITNET
Subject:      Re: The Silence of the List

               State University of New York at Stony Brook
                       Stony Brook, NY 11794-8121

                                            Michel Deschuyteneer
                                            Department of Neurology, HSC
                                            516 444-1469
                                            26-Jan-1993 05:04pm EST
FROM:  MDESCHUYTENEER
TO:    ELGFROEHRER@PSUCES.BITNET            ( _CINEMA-L@AUVM.BITNET )

SUBJECT: RE: The Silence of the List

    Don't panic!  ;-)

    OK, before everyone goes home pouting, I'll try to give all who have
    been wondering about the apparent cahotic behavior of the listserv some
    basic answers. (Which, BTW, I got from a computer expert friend of mine
    a couple of years back when I experienced this myyself from the first
    time. Additional comments and corrections welcomed - my memories may be
    altered and I'm a cell biologist for crying ou loud!)

    1. Delays at the host computer (the mainframe at AU in our case).
    Remember that mainframes are shared machines handling numerous tasks
    simultaneously. A listserver is only one of them and one that does not
    have a high order of priority - except of course for the members of the
    list! When you send a posting, it will be distributed to the hundreds
    of members when the CPU has time to take care of it. Which can mean
    hours of waiting.
    Typically, expect longer delays at the beginning and end of each
    semester when registration, drop/add, and similar business keeps the
    machine even busier. On a daily basis, longer delays may occur at
    night, paradoxically. This because many users will run big "jobs" after
    hours when CPU time is cheaper.
    And there are the occasional shutdowns for maintenance and repairs.

    2. Network delays.
    Data transfer from one machine to the other from node to node is not
    exempt from "traffic jams" or "rush hour" type delays (sort of - you
    get the picture).

    3. Delays at your local mainframe.
    The pesky interferences at the host mainframe may affect E-mail
    distribution at your site, too.

    4. Finally, there are the occasional glitches, bugs and whims of the
    Big Sysop in the Sky, which may sometimes result in your automatic
    removal from the list (e.g. when a message cannot be delivered to your
    E-mailbox). You can always check your status as a list member with the
    REVIEW CINEMA-L command to the listserver (NOT to the list, please). Or
    just send again a SUBSCRIBE command: if everything is OK, listserv will
    politely reply that you are a member already.

    5. Then, of course, there is that one day when *everyone* on the list
    has some more important thing to do. Sure.  :-)

    In conclusion: patience, my friend, patience...

    Well, I hope you'll receive this one before long.

    MICHEL

    P.S. Thanks for the replys to my inquiry about DS9 actors.