Re: Getting files from Caltech

[mspector@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mitchell Spector)]

In article nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates) writes...
 
>   Yes. However, apple2.caltech.edu is a Mac box. The ftp program on
>it (NetPresenz or something like that) seems to have problems staying
>running, as whenever Caltech goes on vacation (and presumably Dan
>Zimmerman, the maintainer), the ftp program dies after a few days and
>doesn't come back until vacation is over.
>
>   In test after test, MacOS boxes have shown that they croak out
>under heavy *server* load, for www, ftp, and the like. Unix boxes are
>the ones that support all the big ftp, www, and usenet loads the best.
 
    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:
 
    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).
 
    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!).
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.
 
Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca / mspector@nyx.cs.bu.edu