<html><div>Keith Hood (hoodkl@netscape.net) said something that sounded
like:</div>
<div>>I agree that the kingdom could use better Web support. And if
the majority of</div>
<div>>the kingdom decides we should buy a server, fine by me. For that
matter, if</div>
<div>>the people managing the Ansteorran web site would like some help
with the work</div>
<div>>load, I'll volunteer. I know HTML and I used to teach system
administration.</div>
<br>
<div>This is fine but one of the problems we have now is that if I indeed
needed some help I would have to share my ftp account with someone.
One of the limitations we now face is that we cannot give out any more
accounts. As a result, anything that is to be posted to the Kingdom
web site has to come through me.</div>
<br>
<div>Also, some have expressed the problem of hackers. Let me
assure you that if someone hacked into our server they would not be
grabbing any valueable information. There are no credit card
numbers floating around, no top secret documents, and no treasury balance
statements to alter. Right now the system is backed up by Pug,
twice by me and when the site becomes sufficiently large I plan on
burning a cd to provide at least a snapshot of the site in case all of
these safe-guards some how fail when we really need them.</div>
<br>
<div>As for monthly charges, it is true that we can get hosted for $20 a
month, but most web hosting companies charge extra for CGI capability,
mailing list services, and extraordinary disk space. I see the
Ansteorra site at least doubling or tripling in size as soon as the new
server arrives (or soon thereafter). This situation needs to be
included in the pricing scheme. I do not think $20 will be the
final price we arrive at.</div>
<br>
<div>Also I have read other concerns of the server becoming
outdated. From my point of view this really is not a major
concern. I do not want to debate operating systems, but I use NT
4.0 and have a 350 MZ Intel processor, 96 MB of RAM with a 4 gig
HD. I really do not plan on having to buy another system for quite
some time. Where I work I use NT 4 as well with a 200Mz AMD
processor and 128 MB of RAM with a 4gig HD. It has served me well
for 1.5 years. The only reason I would need to upgrade is out of my
own greed of wanting a faster system, a bigger HD, and more RAM. I
actually do not need any more than I have now and am quite comfortable
the way things are. With a server (and Pug can correct me if I am
in error) there are fewer needs than a system you might use at
home. Yes it needs to be a strong system, but it performs different
functions. From my experiences the hardware is mainly used to
support multiple users, web pages and graphics, and email. The
machine will never have DOOM installed on it, will never run Photoshop or
Word, and will probably never make a sound. The machine does not
need a great video card, does not need a sound card, does not need a good
monitor, and does not need a good mouse, keyboard, zip drive, scanner or
any other peripheral. It only needs a good, fast processor, a large
harddrive or multiple harddrives, plenty of RAM, and an operating system
designed for web use. Of course power backups do tag along.</div>
<br>
<div>Let me also address the issue of the donated computer
equipment. While this is a very noble gesture, trying to make
computer parts work together can be a nightmare. From personal
experience, some computer parts while in good working order just are not
compatible with each other. I have a 166MZ MMX Intel computer that
I built with donated parts from friends and other computers I acquired
from schools, etc. After more than a year, I still have
problems. My only recourse is to purchase compatible parts.
After doing this there are still problems that have not been
answered. I have only been told that sometimes these
"things" happen in the computer world. In my opinion,
buying the new system is the prudent move.</div>
<br>
<div>I have said enough already. Let the arm-wrestling
begin.</div>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<font size=4>In Service,<br>
<br>
<b>Krzysztof Kopernik<br>
</b>Virtual Scribe, Kingdom of Ansteorra</font></html>