Re: Getting files from Caltech

[dmz@cco.caltech.edu (Daniel Zimmerman)]

In article <5ar7gj$5vf@nyx.cs.du.edu>, mspector@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mitchell
Spector) wrote:

>    On the subject of the Caltech FTP site, besides the annoyance of
>it being down so frequently, and thus, a major Apple II archive site
>is less accessible, let's talk about the 'Incoming' directory.
> 
>    Since the change over from a Unix box to a Mac box, the 'Incoming'
>directory (where all new files are uploaded) marks all files in there
>invisible and unaccessible. Now this has two ill-affects:

Actually, it has nothing to do with the change over from a UNIX box to a
Mac box - I could have just as easily made the incoming directory 
unreadable on a UNIX box, and I could just as easily make it readable
on the Mac box. There are good reasons why it's not readable, most of them
having to do with me not wanting to be a target for lawsuits. For 
instance, since the Caltech Apple II Archive is a fairly well-known site,
if the "incoming" directory was writable and readable as well, people might
very well start uploading non-Apple II pirated software there knowing that
I don't check it every day because of time constraints...

>    First, while the maintainer has always had the final word on what
>archives are accepted and which are rejected and purged, we no longer
>have the option of "grabbing" up what might disappear (i.e. very large
>PaintWorks animations, 3200 color picture collections, programs without
>any documention or description included, older programs, leaked betas
>such as Diamonds or Wolf 3D that were uploaded and then pulled, old
>demos rejected because of coarse language or images, etc).

Actually, I'm not short on space anymore, so I haven't rejected _any_ uploads
except for corrupt archives in a very long time. As for "leaked betas" and
other stuff, I don't particularly think those _should_ be distributed...

>    Secondly, being able to access the 'Incoming' directory meant you
>could download archives _immediately_ after they've been uploaded. At
>present, we must now wait until they've been sorted and moved to the
>'NEW.FILES' directory. Considering how busy Dan often is, this can take
>up to several _months_ (as an example, just the other day I had a quick
>peek there, the last batch of sorted files are dated mid-October 1996!).

Yes, I guess I was a bit lax last term... :) I'll try to do better this term...

>I don't blame Dan, but it would be nice if the 'Incoming' directory
>was accessible as in years past. The Ground FTP site doesn't even seem
>to have an operational 'Incoming' or 'Uploads' folder, so we're left
>with very few options.

I will consider it, though I don't think it's really necessary. The very
easiest way for an uploader to make sure that a file gets moved to the
proper place right away is to e-mail me when they upload it - I can
guarantee you that any file will be moved within a few hours of me
receiving the e-mail (a few minutes, if I'm actually sitting at the machine
when I get it)...

On another note, I apologize to everyone for the weirdness with the archive
lately... Hopefully, that's all over now... :)

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Zimmerman   Caltech Apple II Archive Admin/Official Roxette WWW Admin
M/S 256-80, Caltech                         WWW: http://babylon.caltech.edu/
Pasadena, California  91125  USA               Internet: dmz@cco.caltech.edu