RE: !! *Very* important Oracle-L message !!

It is good start...I think we all should start sending min $20(for USA) and UKL 15 (for UK) to Jared/Bruce once we have address Regards

MOHAMMAD RAFIQ Reply-To: ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com> Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 08:50:55 -0800

Just publish the address where to send the money orders to and my $20 will be on it's way tomorrow.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Anjan Thakuria [mailto:anjan.thakuria_at_eds.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 11:21 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> Subject: Re: !! *Very* important Oracle-L message !!
>
>
> Can we just start pledging ..We have got to keep this form
> going under. Ideas
> .....
>
> Anjan
>
> Jenner Mike wrote:
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > Sent: 28 August 2001 23:29
> > To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> >
> > Ok, now that I have your attention, please read the
> following message from
> > Bruce Bergman,
> > owner of fatcity.com. It concerns the future of this list.
> >
> > Please read the entire message before replying.
> >
> > Thank you.
> >
> > Jared Still ( List Owner )
> >
> > -------------------------------------------
> >
> > Hello ORACLE-L list members --
> >
> > I would like to take a few minutes of your time for a
> "State of the Union"
> > address, if you can call it that. This is a rather serious
> message, and I
> > request that you take the time to read this message
> entirely. I've got a
> > problem that needs resolution this week, and I'm hoping you
> folks can help
> > me come to a conclusion. This message turned out to be fairly
> > long-winded, so please excuse me for that. :-)
> >
> > Fat City (fatcity.com) is my company, and I am the provider
> of the list
> > services that you receive ORACLE-L through. I've been
> hosting Internet
> > mailing lists for over 10 years, and carry quite a few
> lists, including a
> > big selection of Oracle-related lists (14, in fact). Fat
> City has always
> > been a labor of love for me. Over the years it has rarely
> generated any
> > income at all, and it usually does not cover my expenses --
> most of the
> > time
> > it is a monthly loss for me. The vast majority of my 60+
> mailing lists
> > have
> > been hosted for free, at my expense (as is the ORACLE-L
> list, for example).
> > Yet I have absorbed these costs because I enjoy hosting
> discussion lists
> > and I know a lot of lists can't afford to pay for quality service.
> >
> > I am soon to be one of the Rhythms Orphans. Rhythms, my
> DSL provider, has
> > gone bankrupt and will be out of business by 10-Sep-2001.
> I need to find
> > another provider of high-speed Internet in order to
> continue operations. I
> > am at the point of either folding shop completely and going
> out of business
> > myself, or trying to make Fat City a viable, money-making
> endeavor. I need
> > to make this decision by this Friday (for financial and
> planning reasons).
> > After Friday, I am committed one way or the other.
> >
> > My upstream ISP and I are on very good terms, and in fact,
> I've been a
> > customer of theirs since 1985! As a result, they have
> graciously offered
> > to help me out of this situation at considerable expense to
> themselves.
> > I'm not at liberty to discuss the terms of the contract I
> would engage in
> > with them, but suffice to say that is one of those
> once-in-a-lifetime
> > opportunities that I'd be a fool to pass up. I have this
> offer personally
> > from the President of that company, if I want it. Simply
> said, my ability
> > to take them up on their offer and switch Fat City over to
> a dedicated T1
> > or
> > better solution revolves around being able to generate
> quite a bit of
> > additional
> > income per month, and very soon. In an effort to be open
> and up-front with
> > you folks about this, I basically need to generate an
> additional $500 more
> > per
> > month. Right now that seems daunting, but I've been working
> hard to line up
> > that
> > additional income, and I believe I can do it. Just not
> right away. My
> > estimates are that it will take me four or five months to
> come up to that
> > level. I need to get out there and sell website hosting
> and list hosting
> > packages, and get new customers. That takes time,
> unfortunately. I need a
> > buffer to enable me to get past this startup phase.
> >
> > After some discussions with Jared (the list owner), and
> some encouragement
> > from him, I am coming to you to ask for you help in keeping Fat City
> > financially afloat until I can be self sufficient. I'm not
> asking for a
> > specific dollar amount from anyone, nor am I *expecting*
> anything from you
> > folks. But if it is within your power to contribute some
> money towards
> > this
> > end (and yes, I know these are hard financial times for
> everyone), I am
> > hoping you can help. If I can get sufficient promise of
> funds that will
> > see
> > me through the next few months, I am willing to jump in
> with both feet and
> > make Fat City a viable business. If it looks like the
> contributions are
> > not
> > sufficient to enable me to do that, I will cease operations
> within the next
> > 45-60 days.
> >
> > Let me be clear about a few things: If I *do* cease
> operations, I will give
> > all of my lists time to find new list providers, and will
> make every effort
> > to aid the shift over to the new provider, provide list
> dumps, archives,
> > mail forwarding, etc. Even though Rhythms goes out of business on
> > 10-Sep-2001, I have secured service until at least
> 10-Oct-2001 to enable
> > this to happen. So don't worry about having to rush into
> your conversion
> > if
> > things don't work out. I would also like to clearly state
> that this is not
> > some attempt to blackmail or coerce anyone into coming up
> with money. This
> > will either succeed or fail based on what you folks can
> comfortably and
> > willingly contribute. If I had the ability to cover this
> startup period
> > myself,
> > I would definitely do so. If Fat City ultimately goes
> under, it wil NOT be
> > your fault, and I hold no one to blame. That's just how
> the Internet cards
> > are right now. I do not want anyone to contribute if they
> don't have
> > the money, or if things are tight at home, or anything like
> that. I would
> > like contributions to be made from those who are able to make such a
> > contribution willingly.
> >
> > Also, I don't want anyone to send any money right now.
> Basically I just
> > want a show of hands of those who could contribute
> something to this cause.
> > Send me (bruceb_at_fatcity.com) or Jared (jkstill_at_cybcon.com)
> an E-mail saying
> > what amount you'd be willing to contribute. If you would
> rather donate
> > anonymously, perhaps Jared could collect those donations.
> I will "pass
> > around the hat" until Friday morning, at which point I'll
> see if there were
> > sufficient pledges to enable me to move forward. If it
> seems like there
> > is,
> > then I will come up with a way for you to honor your pledge
> (probably
> > either
> > directly to me via check or via PayPal, most likely). The
> funds can be
> > collected in the next few weeks, but I must make my
> decision on Friday. I
> > apologize for the late notice on this, but I was not given
> this offer by my
> > ISP until late last week.
> >
> > In return for your contributions, I promise the following things:
> >
> > - I will use all contributions ONLY for the express purpose
> of paying for
> > my
> > Internet service costs
> > - I will continue to host the ORACLE-L list for free for
> the forseeable,
> > indefinite future
> > - I will make no more requests of this list for
> contributions of this sort
> > - I will provide a full accounting and update to the list
> on the costs and
> > how the funds are being used
> > - I will make improvements to the list that will enhance
> your features and
> > performance (for example, faster turn-around on list postings, etc)
> > - I will at least carry though for the next calendar year
> unless I have
> > catastrophic financial failure
> >
> > Please note that the ODTUG organization is already making a
> considerable
> > contribution by way of a monthly payment for service, so
> they are already
> > aware of this situation and are actively helping out.
> There are a good
> > number of people here who are on the ODTUG lists too, so I
> wanted to point
> > that out ahead of time and let you know that they are being
> very helpful.
> >
> > Another way you could contribute would be to come to Fat
> City for your list
> > hosting or website hosting needs. I had just started
> offering website
> > hosting services before this mess started, and obviously, a
> monthly paying
> > customer is far better than a one-time contribution. If you go to
> > http://www.fatcity.com and click on the "Website Hosting"
> link, you can
> > check out the packages I offer. In an effort to get new
> customers, I am
> > willing to waive all setup fees in order to bring new
> customers on board.
> > If you become a customer here in the next couple of months,
> that would help
> > tremendously. If you have an interest in hosting your
> website (personal or
> > business) with us, -or- a want to start a new mailing list,
> please contact
> > me for details.
> >
> > I know this is a lot to ask of you folks. You are entirely
> welcome to just
> > tell me to jump in a lake, and that that's how business is
> right now. But
> > I
> > know many of you personally, either from ODTUG conferences
> or from other
> > Oracle events, and I also know how staunchly you support
> this mailing list
> > with useful information, humor, helpfulness and an eye
> toward quality. I
> > would like to think that you find Fat City to be the best
> place to host
> > your
> > list, and that you will want to help me out so that I can
> continue to
> > provide the list to you folks free of charge. I made a
> promise to Jared
> > years ago to host this list for free because I think it is
> one of the best
> > and most valuable resources out there. I intend to honor
> that promise to
> > him by continuing to provide it for free. If it turns out
> that I must
> > close
> > shop and call it quits, at least I will have known I did my
> best to make it
> > succeed, and I did so without having to reneg on committments I had
> > made in the past.
> >
> > I am being open and honest with everyone because I believe
> that this is the
> > best way to succeed. I believe you appreciate this kind of
> approach, and I
> > want you to know that regardless of what happens, I
> certainly appreciate
> > every consideration you give this request. Whether or not
> this succeeds, I
> > know that you are a great group of people and I wish this
> list the best
> > luck
> > in this life, or the next. :-)
> >
> > Remember, time is of the essence. The sooner I hear from people who
> > can help, the sooner I can nail down a line of approach.
> If you have any
> > questions or concerns, please E-mail me.
> >
> > Thanks everyone!
> >
> > Bruce Bergman
> > President, Fat City Network Services
> >
> > --
> > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
> > --
> > Author:
> > INET: Jared.Still_at_radisys.com
> >
> > Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051
> > San Diego, California -- Public Internet access /
> Mailing Lists
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
> > to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
> > the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
> > (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
> > also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
> >
> > --
> > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
> > --
> > Author: Jenner Mike
> > INET: M.Jenner_at_southampton.gov.uk
> >
> > Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051
> > San Diego, California -- Public Internet access /
> Mailing Lists
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
> > to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
> > the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
> > (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
> > also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
>
> --
> Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
> --
> Author: Anjan Thakuria
> INET: anjan.thakuria_at_eds.com
>
> Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051
> San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
> to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
> the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
> (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
> also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
>

--
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
--
Author: Gogala, Mladen
   INET: MGogala_at_oxhp.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
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(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).


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-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: Mohammad Rafiq
  INET: rafiq9857_at_hotmail.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).