ok -- let's keep the thing rolling... and forget about python 2.4 for now, but let's get back to making it optional:
```I stole the idea from gunicorn, which is known to run on many platforms seamlessly.```
and that is great, BUT (not to show off, just giving some stats) compare e,g, number  of installations of gunicorn vs fail2ban on Debian systems http://qa.debian.org/popcon-graph.php?packages=gunicorn+fail2ban&show_installed=on&want_legend=on&want_ticks=on&from_date=&to_date=&hlght_date=&date_fmt=%25Y-%25m&beenhere=1  to get a better understanding of my hesitation here  I would really prefer to have it optional, may be even a "default" option eventually but us or user being able to disable it as a workaround if someone runs into a problem with it on some exotic/antique/non-Linux setup.