INFORMATION SERVICES
November 2003
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to Information Services
Announcements from the Bulletin, Today, Notification-L
11/26/03, Science Direct Decision
In consultation with faculty, the library has decided to not participate
in the new three-year contract for access to Science Direct. There were
many factors that went into this decision, and a summary of the key
points along with links to additional resources will be found at
www.macalester.edu/library/misc/.
A recently published article in Change identifies some key
critical issues in scholarly publishing which are also a factor in this
decision. A link to a copy of "The High Costs of Scholarly Journals,"
Change, November/December 2003, p. 10-19 is available on
e-reserve at www.
macalester.edu/eres/info10-01/info10c.pdf. If you have questions or
comments about this decision, please contact Terri Fishel, x6343 or Dani
Roach, x6703. [Bulletin, also 12/1]
11/23/03, E-Mail Server Upgrade Status
The second attempt/part of upgrading the mail server was successfully
completed yesterday, November 22, at around noon. The e-mail server is now
running on a newer, faster computer which also has more memory. This
should make for a more responsive e-mail system.
There are a couple of auxiliary tasks which need to be done to the new
mail server which won't happen until sometime this week or next. They
will probably require a reboot. We will send out advance notice of when
this will take place. [Notification-L]
11/21/03, SpamAssassin Configuration Documentation Released
As promised in today's Bulletin, documentation on customizing
SpamAssassin with our homegrown Configuration tool is now ready for your
use. As noted in the Bulletin, SpamAssassin does
NOT discard any e-mail: it simply marks messages that
look like spam by placing the tag "[***SPAM***]" in the Subject: field.
Most users will not need to make any changes to their SpamAssassin
configurations, but for those who wish to do so, we have developed tools
and documentation so that you have that option.
There are three flavors of the SpamAssassin Configuration tool: one for
Windows (all versions), one for Mac OS 9 and one for Mac OS X. These
may be downloaded from the CIT software page at
http://www.macalester.edu/cit/software/; look on the right side of the
page and scroll down to "SpamAssassin Config."
The documentation for these tools may be found on CIT's documentation
page at http://www.macalester.edu/cit/docs/xplatform/mulberry3
/spamassassin.pdf.
If you have questions about SpamAssassin, the SpamAssassin Configuration
tools, or the documentation on these tools, please contact the Help Desk
at x.6525. Do not reply to this message. [Notification-L]
11/21/03, Reminder: E-Mail Server Upgrade Tomorrow
This is a gentle reminder that the College's e-mail server upgrade will
be completed tomorrow, Saturday, November 22. All e-mail service will
be taken down beginning at 8:00 AM so that the upgrade can be performed.
We expect to be done that afternoon, but we can't give an exact time
when the mail server will be available again. You can call the Help Desk
at x6525 for updates on the mail server status. Mail coming in to campus
will be held on the machine that scans incoming messages for viruses
until the main mail server comes back up, so no incoming messages will
be lost. [Notification-L]
11/21/03, Taking Two Big Bites Out of Spam!
On October 9, with the blessing of the Information Services Advisory
Committee, CIT announced our two-pronged plan to help control spam in
college e-mail (see http://
www.macalester.edu/infoservices/planning/spam.html). On November 6,
we put the first half of that plan into action by passing all incoming
e-mail through a filter created and updated by SpamHaus (http://www.spamhaus.org/). This
filter stops all e-mail coming from a handful of known spammers, whose
businesses are built around sending nothing but spam (and plenty of it).
As SpamHaus notes, fewer than 200 spam outfits account for 90 percent of
spam on the Internet - so blocking mail from these outfits is virtually
guaranteed to prevent only spam. Since the filter has been in place,
approximately 2,900 spam messages per hour have been prevented from
entering our e-mail system.
The second half of our spam solution was announced November 19. This is
SpamAssassin (http://www.spamassassin.org), a tool that resides on our
e-mail server. While SpamAssassin does NOT block mail, it compares
incoming messages against an evolving list of criteria that tend to
distinguish spam from legitimate messages. E-mail messages which score
above a certain level of "spam similarity" have the text tag
"[***SPAM***]" placed in the subject line of the message, but the
message is still delivered normally to your account. By doing this, you
get a warning that a message looks like spam, but there is no danger
that the message will be thrown away unless you delete it. The ultimate
responsibility for deciding whether a message is spam or not rests with
you, the recipient.
To reiterate crucial points: the only messages blocked by SpamHaus are
those coming from a small number of known spammers who send nothing BUT
spam. Likewise, while SpamAssassin marks suspicious messages as spam, it
does NOT delete or block any messages. Each individual at Macalester
controls his or her own e-mail.
SpamAssassin may be configured to your individual specifications: while
you do not need to take any action, you may change many of
SpamAssassin's settings. Customized copies of the SpamAssassin Config
Maker tool are available for Windows (all versions), Macintosh OS 9 and
Macintosh OS X. These may be downloaded from the CIT software page at http://www.macalester.edu
/cit/software/; look on the right side of the page and scroll down
to "SpamAssassin Config." We have released this tool now due to high
demand from campus. Please be aware that documentation for the
SpamAssassin Config tools is not yet available, but is in the final
stages of being created. If you are not sure of your options using the
SpamAssassin Config Maker tool, please wait for the documentation (which
will be announced as soon as it is ready).
[Bulletin, also 11/24, 12/1]
11/21/03, Return of the Languages Lounge
An old friend is back in the Humanities Resource Center. Tom Browne has
re-configured the southeast corner of the HRC with couches, chairs,
tables and lamps for use as a languages reading and study lounge. All
are welcome. This re-creates an informal reading area that had been part
of the Humanities floorplan years ago, but which was lost in subsequent
additions to, and expansion within, the building. Please stop by! [Bulletin, also
11/24, 11/26]
11/21/03, Administrative System Planning
Macalester has embarked on a process to evaluate alternatives to our
current central administrative data system, Jenzabar/CARS. If this
analysis shows that a better choice is available, we may then make a
decision to purchase a new system and convert over to it. Most aspects
of College business will be affected, including payroll, academic
records, billing, purchasing, class registration and many others.
Therefore, this choice will significantly impact every person at
Macalester! A host of background documents, including criteria,
timelines and notes on potential systems, may be found on our central
Admin Planning Web pages, beginning at http://www.macalester.edu/
adminplan/. We encourage everyone to examine this information and
stay abreast of the process. [Bulletin, also 11/24, 12/1]
11/19/03, E-Mail Server Upgrade Rescheduled
We have scheduled the completion of the mail server upgrade for
Saturday, November 22, beginning at 8:00 AM. We expect to be done that
afternoon, but we can't give an exact time when the mail server will be
available again. You can call the Help Desk at x6525 for updates on the
mail server status. Mail coming in to campus will be held on the machine
that scans incoming messages for viruses until the main mail server
comes back up, so no incoming messages will be lost. [Notification-L]
11/19/03, SpamAssassin and Spam Configuration Utility
We have started using SpamAssassin on all e-mail from the Internet.
SpamAssassin is used to identify spam. It does not
discard any e-mail it thinks is spam. It still delivers it to you, but
just prepends "[*** SPAM ***]" to the subject line of any message it
thinks is spam.
Repeat: It does not discard any e-mail it thinks is spam. It just tags it.
We've written a home-grown program for customizing SpamAssassin. Using it, you may:
11/15/03, Mail Server Upgrade
There's good news and bad news about the mail server upgrade. The bad
news is that we discovered some hardware problems, and were unable to
complete the upgrade. The good news is that some parts of the upgrade
were completed successfully, and you should see some performance
improvements in e-mail. As soon as we can resolve the problems, we will
reschedule a time to complete the upgrade. [Notification-L]
11/14/03, 4:10 PM: Countdown to Upgrade
A reminder that e-mail service goes down for a server upgrade at 4:30 PM today.
A reminder we will install a new e-mail server this evening and that
means interruption of e-mail service beginning at 4:30 PM today. While
this was announced previously, the lead time is shorter than we strive
for and reflects the urgency of improving reliability of the service as
soon as possible. Because of preparatory work, the install would take a
few hours under ideal circumstances. Since "ideal circumstances" are not
usually what you get in this business, count on restoration of service
by Saturday morning. Of course, we regret the inconvenience to you and
will make the interruption as short as possible. [Notification-L]
11/14/03, New E-Mail Server to be Installed - 4:30 PM Today
The new e-mail server will be installed this afternoon, Nov. 14. All
college e-mail service will be down beginning at 4:30 PM. It is
expected that service will be restored, running on the new server, the
morning of Saturday, Nov. 15. Explanatory bulletins will be recorded on
the Help Desk's voicemail system as needed, and can be accessed by
calling x6525.
E-mail messages from off-campus correspondents cannot be delivered here
while the Macalester mail server is offline. While most other e-mail
servers around the world will notify their senders that Macalester-bound
messages could not be delivered during the downtime, a few may not do
so. If you are expecting an important communication, you may wish to
contact the intended sender and notify him/her of the downtime.
[Bulletin Flash]
11/14/03, 10:00 AM: E-Mail Fix
A reminder we will install a new e-mail server this evening and that
means interruption of e-mail service beginning at 4:30 PM today. While
this was announced previously, the lead time is shorter than we strive
for and reflects the urgency of improving reliability of the service as
soon as possible. Because of preparatory work, the install would take a
few hours under ideal circumstances. Since "ideal circumstances" are not
usually what you get in this business, count on restoration of service
by Saturday morning. Of course, we regret the inconvenience to you and
will make the interruption as short as possible. [Notification-L]
11/14/03, E-Mail
E-mail service has been inconsistent recently and the slow-downs have
interfered with our work. The reason is an unfortunate delay in delivery
and installation of an upgraded server from Sun Microsystems. The good
news is our new e-mail server is configured and ready to be installed.
This installation will require a period of downtime while the old server
is removed, the new one is put in, data are migrated and the system is
tested. All College e-mail service will be down beginning at 4:30 PM
Friday, November 14. It is expected that service will be restored, running
on the new server, the morning of Saturday, November 15.
Recognizing how critical e-mail is to the College community, please note
that the installation could take longer - another reason to perform it
over a weekend. Explanatory bulletins will be recorded on the Help
Desk's voicemail system as needed, and can be accessed by calling x6525. [Bulletin]
11/14/03, More or Less Spam
While the proportion of e-mail that is spam is increasing, we are
following through with previously announced plans to cut down the amount
that reaches our desktops. The first phase of the plan is spam-blocking
at the server (before it reaches you) based on information from SpamHaus
(www.spamhaus.org). Over 150,000
spam messages were blocked in the first four days of this action or an
average of 1,600 messages per hour. [Bulletin, also 11/17, 11/19]
11/14/03, Don't Trust That Diskette!
As the semester progresses and students begin to work on larger papers
and other assignments, the Help Desk sees more students coming in with
damaged or worn-out floppy and Zip diskettes. Repeatedly, we hear, "But
all my work is stored on that one diskette and I don't have a backup!"
We'll do everything we can to recover data from diskettes when this
happens, but the outlook is usually grim. You can prevent this problem
by saving copies of important files to network drives and to redundant
media - such that if one diskette dies, you have the files on other
diskettes and drives. Also, keep your diskettes clean and protect them
from damage: carry them in a hard case, rather than loose in a backpack.
Since your data is critically important, protect it now! [Bulletin, also 11/17, 11/19]
11/14/03, Sponsoring An Event for Off-Campus People?
No matter how well you publicize, our switchboard is called asking who,
what, when and where. Please share the specifics of your event with
Colleen Nelson, our switchboard operator at x6000. Any information
provided is greatly appreciated. [Bulletin, also 11/17, 11/19]
11/13/03, New E-Mail Server To Be Installed
After significant delays on the vendor's part, our new e-mail server is
configured and ready to be installed. This installation will require a
period of downtime while the old server is removed, the new one is put
in, data are migrated and the system is tested. All College e-mail
service will be down beginning at 4:30 PM Friday November 14. It is
expected that service will be restored, running on the new server, the
morning of Saturday November 15.
Recognizing how critical e-mail is to the College community, please note
that the installation could take longer - another reason to perform it
over a weekend. Explanatory bulletins will be recorded on the Help
Desk's voicemail system as needed, and can be accessed by calling
x.6525.
E-mail messages from off-campus correspondents cannot be delivered here
while the Macalester mail server is offline. While most other e-mail
servers around the world will notify their senders that Macalester-bound
messages could not be delivered during the downtime, a few may not do
so. If you are expecting an important communication, you may wish to
contact the intended sender and notify him/her of the downtime. [Notification-L]
11/13/03, DHCP Server Down Last Night
Last night, from about 5:00 PM to about 7:30 AM this morning, the DHCP
('Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol') server was down. The DHCP
server is what assigns network addresses to computers, and without a
network address, a computer cannot access the network.
Any computers that were already on would have not been affected, but
anyone trying to startup their computer during that time would not have
been able to access the network.
DHCP is an acronym for 'Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol'. You can
read about it here: http://rfc.dnssec.net/rfc2131.
txt. [Notification-L]
11/05/03, Internet Slowdown
Wednesday, November 5: This afternoon we experienced severe slowdowns in
our Internet connectivity because of a denial of service attack. The
attack began at around 3:00 PM, and ended shortly before 4:30 PM.
[Notification-L]
10/31/03, Computer Peripherals and the Micro Fund
Many items that formerly were thought to be high-end equipment have
become generic. These include the laptop mouse, port replicator, extra
monitors, external drives of various sorts, etc. Maintaining a
sustainable Micro Fund to upgrade staff and faculty computers means that
departmental T.E.M. budgets should support these purchases. Please keep
that in mind while putting together your budget proposal for 2004-05.
[Bulletin (also 11/3, 11/5)]
10/31/03, Computers and the Micro Fund
Our policy of supporting one computer per faculty and staff member, plus
public labs, plus others as needed has netted us a proportionately high
population of computers that the College would struggle to sustain long
term. After consultation with our Information Services Advisory
Committee and others, we are prioritizing upgrade investments to
computers that originally were purchased through the Micro Fund.
Computers purchased through departmental funds, grants, and personally
administered college funds must be placed in second priority. See the
computer procurement policy at http
://www.macalester.edu/infoplan/archived/procurement.html.
[Bulletin (also 11/3, 11/5)]
10/31/03, E-Mail
We plan an upgrade of the e-mail server as soon as technical preparation
is done and a time is found that minimally disrupts College work. E-mail
performance of both the old and new servers depends on cooperation in
keeping Inboxes to a minimum size (under 5 Megabytes). This has little
to do with availability of storage space but much to do with throughput
of the server, which must sort through all Inboxes to open one of them.
You can also help performance at your end by closing your mailboxes
other than your Inbox before logging off. Your computer then has an
easier time opening your account when you log in. Performance also is
helped by cleaning out your "Sent" mailbox regularly, if you use one.
[Bulletin (also 11/3, 11/5)]
10/31/03, Laptop Loans Temporarily Suspended
The Help Desk's pool of PC and Macintosh laptop computers for short-term
loan to faculty and staff has been very popular. Unfortunately, many
borrowers have kept computers beyond their due dates or have been
negligent in caring for the gear. Through theft and loss, at least one
computer and multiple peripheral items have disappeared, and some of
those that remain are damaged. It is necessary for us to temporarily
suspend the loan of laptops from the Help Desk while we work to repair
the damaged items and secure the return of tardy equipment.
[Bulletin (also 11/3, 11/5)]
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