[SD-User] SDI 2001

[Paul EI5DI]

Jim MM0BQI said,

> Firstly the change in the list was not smooth.

In general, users who used plain text (not html formatted) emails did
not have problems when subscribing.  If you have Outlook, please
ensure that the "Plain Text" option (in the Format Menu) is selected
whenever you're sending emails to the mailing list.

> Is everyone back on the list that was here before?

I can't answer that directly.  All I can say is everyone on the old
list received the same information about subscribing here at
contesting.com.  At present, the simplest way to subscribe is to
follow the link on my home page.

> The list does not allow certain words or phrases to be used (your
message will not be posted) I feel that Paul should let us know
exactly what the current situation is.

This is something I don't control - it applies to all mailing lists at
contesting.com.

> I logged about 500 QSOs in SDI before the contest and reported four
problems
> to Paul which as always were quickly sorted out.  In the event the
latest
> version arrived too late to be tested properly so I suffered from
about six
> reboots during the contest.  I feel we all have a role to play in
helping to
> develop SD in the future.  Do we need  some form of organised
testing of the
> new releases and changes?

Many thanks for your suggestions.  Since SDI is used in anger only
once per year, and since it is continually updated, it's likely there
will always be bugs.  My main concern is that no-one will lose data
due to any bugs.  The problem that required Jim to reboot SDI had been
there for many months (it didn't arrive with the latest version) but
had not been noticed by anyone.  Things happen during live contests
that you simply wouldn't think of testing in advance.  On the other
hand, it's easier for me to control SD because it's used in contests
nearly every week.

If users prefer a conservative approach, they can always stay a couple
of versions behind the latest release - but there's still no guarantee
that new bugs will not turn up!

As usual - if you tell me about bugs that can be reproduced, I'll make
every effort to fix them.

73,
Paul EI5DI
www.ei5di.com