Re: [ihc] administrivia: comments on the future of digest.net

["Joseph Shaw, II" <josephshaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard-

I don't still have the address from last time, and I did NOT contribute last
time-made a TERRIBLE move across country about 1 1/2 years ago, and have had
very bad financial luck since then.  However, I felt guilty about it then,
and I do now as well!

I DID contribute back when In was making money-about five years ago!!!
However, don't think I likely have since then.

I have been on both the Diesel Benz digest and the IH digest at times, and
am addicted.  If these were to cease, I would have some serious withdrawal
problems!

SO, if you will post that address, and let me post-date the check to my next
payday (03/26/04), I will mail out a check for $50.00 ASAP.

And I did not find the tone of your email in the least bit offensive!

Hope this helps!

J. Michael Shaw, II

> This is one of the trickiest things I've ever tried to write.
> Hopefully I'll manage to strike the right tone with this.
> Apologies in advance if I fail; it's not my intent to
> tick anyone off with this.
>
> I'll start by thanking those who have contributed to the
> digest over the years. Those contributions have been a big
> help. This message is not directed to you, you all have
> done enough. This message is for those who haven't
> yet decided to do so.
>
> Right this minute I'm facing a rather harsh reality. I'm
> currently engaged in a job hunt, one which has taken
> several months and isn't going terribly well. I've been an
> IT professional for some 25+ years, and without question
> this is the worst job market for my profession that I have
> ever seen. Previously, the longest I've ever been out of
> work (while looking for work) was 2 weeks.
>
> This leads me to my real topic. Back in August/September
> I worked out that if a meaningful percentage (say, 50%)
> of the readership readership wanted to make even a very
> small contribution (say, $5 or $10) to the lists, these
> mailing lists would then constitute at least a 1/2 time job
> (and under those circumstances, I'd probably work on it
> that way.)
>
> The percentage of members who contributed was about
> 5%. At the time, with my job hunt starting, I didn't make
> anything of it, as the 1/2 time job observation was at
> some level a curiosity more than anything else.
>
> But now my family and I are entering into a rather severe
> belt tightening; things are getting very stressful around
> here. While I do deeply appreciate the contributions of
> those who have done so, I'm seeing another message here,
> which is that 95% of the readership doesn't think these lists
> are worth even $5 a year.
>
> This makes the digest.net look like a luxury, and now is
> not a time where I can indulge luxuries.
>
> I have no plans to do anything drastic right away. I just
> felt that the readers should get some fair warning that
> I'm in a situation that has to change, one way or another.
> And if anyone knows any IT jobs in Albany NY or Pittsfield
> MA (IT Director, Project Manager, CIO, CTO, that sort of
> thing), I'd love to hear about them.
>
> richard
> --
> Richard Welty
rwelty@domain.elided
> Averill Park Networking
518-573-7592
>     Java, PHP, PostgreSQL, Unix, Linux, IP Network Engineering, Security