Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 22:51:45 -0500 From: TELECOM Digest (Patrick Townson) Subject: Microsoft Grant and Funding for TELECOM Digest! M I C R O S O F T G R A N T A N D F U N D I N G F O R T E L E C O M D I G E S T ! ! ! ! ====================================================== I am very pleased to announce a substantial gift arrived on Thursday from Microsoft to assist in the funding of TELECOM Digest. With this gift, and with the promised funding to continue on a regular basis, Microsoft joins the International Telecommunication Union as a corp- orate sponsor of the Digest. I really cannot begin to express my gratitude to Microsoft for their concern and speedy action in agreeing to be a sponsor of the Digest and their prompt remittance of funds enabling me to continue regular publication. Quite a few of the regular readers know there have been 'problems' at one time or another in the past, stemming in large part from the huge increase in readership the Digest has experienced over the past couple of years, plus the large increase in messages received daily. I was, or am perhaps a 'victim of my own success'; I wanted for many years for the Digest to have a large and steady readership. Well, now it does. I have no delusions of grandeur that the increase is due to my efforts alone, or even in large part. Overall, the net has simply increased in size and volume of traffic so much that no one can keep up with it all. Much of it just 'rubbed off' here. What has essentially been happening over the past roughly two years is that the Digest has consumed more and more of my time daily, to the point that a single person could be 'employed' full time handling the editorial and list maintainence duties as well as the work involved in managing the Telecom Archives. Either work at it full time, as I have tried to do since January of this year, or else have a sort of crappy looking newsgroup/Digest, and I have to admit to some of that also. The ITU's ongoing assistance has been of great help, but they could not do it alone. Readers who have supported the Digest by sending the annual suggested donation of twenty dollars have also been helpful, but they also I suspect have gotten tired of listening to me beat the same old drums over and over. The ITU's sponsorship will continue also. Now regards Microsoft, let me acknowledge the anticipated comments of some of their detractors. I know *some of you* have problems with the idea of any of 'corporate America' getting their fingers too much into 'our net'. I *know* most or all of you do not want to see a 'commercial- ized' Digest or newsgroup. As long as I have anything to say about it, this Digest will not become commmercialized. Day after day I junk messages by the dozens -- literally! -- from companies who want to run messages here selling you something. I could probably get rich selling advertising here but I just won't do it. So in case you are worried, Microsoft will be at 'arms length' as far as editorial comments and news releases are concerned here. And so that we understand one another and can be upfront from the beginning of this new relationship, it is fair to say I obviously am not going to entertain too many cranky comments about them in print here. ------------------------------------ What I would like you to do now -- Please send a note to Charles Fitzgerald with a copy (cc:) to Toby Nixon and let them know what you think of their efforts for TELECOM Digest. Tell them how pleased you are; tell them what a rotten, freeloading bum I am; tell them whatever you wish, but do please let them know what your feelings are regards corporate support for moderated newsgroups and Digests such as this one. I've already thanked them both quite sincerely for 'pulling the strings' needed in Redmond, and I would like to conclude this announcement by doing so again in print. And of course, when you are purchasing software in the future, I would like you to consider purchasing it from Microsoft. If they are going to spend their money supporting newsgroups on the Internet, then I think we should spend some of our money with them, don't you? . I told you I would have good news on Thursday, didn't I? Have a great weekend and even better Independence Day holiday. I'll be around off and on, and resume in earnest here after a couple more days of getting some personal things finished. Patrick Townson TELECOM Digest Editor