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Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger?

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On Monday 25 March 2013 00:13 Bruce Sinclair wrote in comp.os.linux.misc:

> In article <rasu1a-m6i.ln1@squidward.local.dionic.net>, Tim Watts
> <tw+usenet@dionic.net> wrote: (snip)
> 
>>These days, I just run a Wordpress blog with auto Twitter and RSS feeds
>>and tell everyone to watch it in the way least inconvenient to them.
>>
>>They don't of course - but if they complain about some "unannounced"
>>event, I quietly point at the blog entry that was posted a week ago :-|
> 
> I'm with your non blog reading users here, and reckon they are quite
> right to complain. Blogs are not communication. :)
> Communication involves information being received as well as sent, not
> just 'posted somewhere'.
> You might as well stick a postit note on your computer telling someone
> their
>  machine will be rebooted in 10 minutes. You have communicated (in a braod
> sense :) ) ... just not with them.
> 
> Blogs are a semi private doodle box. That's all. :) :)

OK - do you have a better idea?

You are very quick to rubbish an approach when the alternatives seem less 
desireable:

1) Email everything all the time. Yep - tried that. Along with all the other 
"spam" my colleagues get from other sources, they tend to blank it out - as 
do I wtih other messages.

I reserve email for "really important" messages.

2) Force all users to use company managed desktops. That worked at my last 
place, but there, we had a team of 11 programmers - and Linux, Windows and 
MacOSX desktops were very well supported. 

Here, I am running 160 servers, single handed. So 3 flavours of managed 
desktop are out of the question for 60 staff. I might just manage a 
supported linux desktop.

Also, a lot of our users work remotely on laptops which makes support even 
harder.


So - it seems to me that a web based message feed with a couple of other 
feed machanisms are the only viable way - everyone has a browser.



I think you are also mis-interpreting the use of Wordpress here - not that I 
have actually explained in detail what I've done.

I tweaked it so that the last-modified time is treated as the publish time - 
this makes sure any updated messages float to the top. The RSS and Twitter 
feeds will redistribute updates.

I also write it not like a blog, but as a MotD - short, simple with clear 
headings. Almost all messages are 1-2 liners.


So if you have a better idea, I would be very interested - because I'm 
stumped to do any better (without a huge amount of effort).



The "post it" note analogy is unfair - this does not involve walking ointo 
my office. Nor does it involve actually checking the web page if you are 
able to make use of RSS or Twitter feeds.

There is also an element of "I've done my best to communicate" - it really 
is in their interests to avail themselves of the information - otherwise 
there's not much I can do about it when a service goes offline for scheduled 
work.

Reasonable and workable ideas most welcome!

Cheers

Tim

-- 
Tim Watts           Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

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Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> - 2013-03-22 04:30 +0000
  Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Keith Keller <kkeller-usenet@wombat.san-francisco.ca.us> - 2013-03-21 21:47 -0700
  Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? "Chris F.A. Johnson" <cfajohnson@gmail.com> - 2013-03-22 01:08 -0400
  Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> - 2013-03-22 06:57 +0000
    Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Ivan Shmakov <oneingray@gmail.com> - 2013-03-22 17:03 +0000
      Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Tim Watts <tw+usenet@dionic.net> - 2013-03-22 20:42 +0000
        Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? bruce.sinclair@NOSPAMORELSEagresearch.NOTco.NOTnz (Bruce Sinclair) - 2013-03-25 00:13 +0000
          Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Tim Watts <tw+usenet@dionic.net> - 2013-03-25 09:07 +0000
            Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? bruce.sinclair@NOSPAMORELSEagresearch.NOTco.NOTnz (Bruce Sinclair) - 2013-03-26 00:15 +0000
              Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2013-03-26 01:39 +0000
                Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Tim Watts <tw+usenet@dionic.net> - 2013-03-26 08:04 +0000
                Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2013-03-26 13:43 +0000
              Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Tim Watts <tw+usenet@dionic.net> - 2013-03-26 08:02 +0000
                Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? bruce.sinclair@NOSPAMORELSEagresearch.NOTco.NOTnz (Bruce Sinclair) - 2013-03-27 00:17 +0000
  Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? J G Miller <miller@yoyo.ORG> - 2013-03-22 16:48 +0000
    Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? John Hasler <jhasler@newsguy.com> - 2013-03-22 12:41 -0500
      Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> - 2013-03-23 03:56 +0000
    Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> - 2013-03-23 04:04 +0000
      Re: Is there an intra-machine pseudo instant messenger? J G Miller <miller@yoyo.ORG> - 2013-03-23 14:13 +0000

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