[pianotech] real costs of running a listserv list

[Paul McCloud]

Hi Jim:
Ok, so aside from hosting and servers and such, all we're looking at are some admin duties and someone setting it up.  I'm just trying to understand a ballpark quote for all of this.  Once we understand the investment necessary to start, then we can have a debate over GoogleGroup vs Listserv. So far, there is the price ($0.00) of GoogleGroups, with the uncertainty of ownership, web bots crawling over our list looking for marketable tidbits, and the boogeyman.  Then, we have he private server scenario, which is more secure, more controllable, and more (fill in the blank).  Once the benefits and liabilities are understood, we can do a poll and see which way we want to go.  
In a way, since JD owns the GoogleGroup forum, he could pull the plug if he wanted to.  Suppose he disappears?  Then what becomes of it?  
Another question is, who would be the new owner of a new "PianoTeck" list?  It's a shame that the home office and the Board has decided to nix it, since the natural home for it IS the home office.  That option is off the table now, so now, what entity (person or orgnization) is going to take charge?  There must be some ongoing overseer and backup person in place so that it is maintained in perpetuity.  That was the role that Andy Rudoff played, and we need someone or someone(s)to take his place.  That person or group will also need to be responsible for training volunteers to run the operation day-to-day.
Anyway, these are questions that we need an answer to, and sooner than later. Without these questions being answered, we can't offer any alternative to GoogleGroups.   We at least have GGroups for now.  
Just my thoughts.
Paul McCloud
San Diego


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Moy" <jim at moypiano.com>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 8:43:03 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] real costs of running a listserv list




On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 8:14 AM, Paul McCloud < pmc033 at earthlink.net > wrote: 


We owe a lot to Andy Rudoff for bearing all the costs ... Whether he had to pay $850 a year, well, we'd have to ask him about that. 



Mailman is free (GPL) software, so there is no monetary licensing cost. Same with the pipermail archiving component. And, of course, the LAMP stack on which it all runs.