Hello:
I also agree with Igor and Bruce that mail-to-everyone-on-the-list
attachments (especially large image files) should not be sent
unsolicited, but on the other hand they could be quite useful for some
members, therefore it would be interesting to have the option of posting
them for free download. For a limited impromptu trial of this
possibility, we have just mounted a small Web site with username
abrf
and a password
public
at www.crosswinds.net
Crosswinds.net is a netservice provider (different from
www.crosswinds.com !!) that gives free web space (and has done so for
years). It does not oblige users to include banners etc., the pages can
be kept "clean". In addition, Crosswinds.net do not have limits on the
disk space that can be used by their members. Uploading can be done by
ftp, but a much easier way through the
World Wide Web is also available.
The instructions on how to download and upload via the Web are posted at
the Web page
http://www.crosswinds.net/~abrf/
Best regards,
victor@alphadna.com
www.alphadna.com
P.S. I know there will be some people that would not like this
"initiative". Should that be the prevailing opinion, the site can be
closed in a few seconds. alphadna.com does not have any relations or
possible common interests with crosswinds.net.
v.o.
-----Original Message-----
From: Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities
[mailto:abrf-request@aecom.yu.edu]On Behalf Of Bruce A. Stanley
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 9:59 AM
To: Recipients of ABRF List
Subject: Re: Creation of a downloadable file area at ABRF
I would like to second Igor's suggestion of the creation of a temporary
or
permanent storage area where participants in the maillist could upload
and
download attachments. While the recent suggestions of including text
only
attachments within the body of the message sent is an excellent one,
there
are some types of information (images, excel files, formatted documents,
etc.) which are not well-transmitted in message body text, and thus
attachments remain an important source of information.
Our current alternatives are:
1). To include the attachments in the general message to the group,
which in
the past has raised questions of the time it takes to download such
things
for those with slower connections, and more recently has raised
questions of
potential virus propagation. Advantage is that everyone who might be
interested in the attachment information gets to see it.
2). To send the attachment only to the person who sent the original
question, and send notification to the rest of the group that such an
attachment is available, as Igor has done. Advantages and disadvantages
are
basically the converse of number (1), with the added disadvantage that
the
person so kindly offering the information in the attachment may have to
then
send dozens of individual emails containing the attachment to all the
rest
of us in the group who are also interested in the information.
3). To send the attachment and reply only to the person who sent the
original question, with no notification or information sent to the
group.
This to my mind destroys the power of the group, as has been discussed
in
the recent past, but has the "advantage" for the sender that they don't
get
deluged with requests for the attachment, nor criticized for sending
"too
much" information when only some people are interested.
It seems to me that creation of a central "attachment repository" as an
addition to the ABRF archives would be a wonderful and painless way to
get
rid of all the disadvantages above, and provide access to more
information
for all interested parties without burdening those who initially
assemble
and offer to provide such information. It should be technically feasible
to
have all the deposited attachments pre-checked for viruses as well, thus
eliminating the potential virus problem, at least for any known viruses.
I
would imagine that some sort of CGI/Perl filter script could be created
at
abrf@aecom.yu.edu that would automatically strip off any attachments,
eliminate the "V-card" type auto-attachments, and deposit the "real"
attachments into such a repository area. (The technical feasibility of
all
of this is obviously a question for those who actually maintain the
archives
- comments?).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce A. Stanley, Ph.D.
Director, Scientific Programs
Section of Research Resources, Room C1734
Penn State College of Medicine H093
500 University Drive
Hershey, PA 17033-2390
Voice (717) 531-5329 --- Lab and FAX (717) 531-4055
bstanley@psu.edu,
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/core/stanley/
on 5/10/00 9:12, I.L. Rodionov at rodionov@fibkh.serpukhov.su wrote:
> REM Attachment was sent to Winnell H. Newman ONLY.
>
> With reference to the new and, definitely, not the last wave of
E-mail
> viruses/virusophobia, I propose again to allocate a temporary
directory
> at the ABRF server available for uploading/downloading in FTP mode. As
> additional precaution, access may be restricted via password or using
IP
> addresses to list recipients. This will eliminate all known and
possible
> problems associated with file attachments FOREVER.
>
> Igor' Rodionov
<remainder of message removed>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 18 2000 - 09:47:35 EDT