[Massplanners] [External] massplanners listserv issues

[Barbara Saint Andre]

Many thanks to Alan, Nathan, and Mariah, and the other members who have done such an excellent job in keeping this listserve running lo these many years!! Very much appreciated.

Barbara J. Saint Andre
Director, Community and Economic Development
Town of Medway
155 Village Street
Medway, MA 02053
(508) 321-4918

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of webmaster--- via MassPlanners
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 6:50 PM
To: massplanners at masscptc.org
Subject: [External] [Massplanners] massplanners listserv issues

Dear massplanners listserv subscribers,
 The administrators have run into a problem with the listserv. We are no longer able to approve new subscribers. There is no known work around for this issue other than allowing anyone to subscribe without review. We are hesitant to use this option.
Also, some, and maybe all, subscribers who opted to receive listserv messages in 'digest' form (one email per day) are no longer receiving anything. This can be solved by unselecting the digest option. We have unselected the option on a case by case basis for subscribers who have contacted us. Subscribers can do this themselves by going to https://masscptc.org/mailman/options/massplanners_masscptc.org. Scroll down to 'Set Digest Mode' and set to 'Off'.
The person running the server for the listserv and CPTC website believes that a recent update to Python, the underlying server language, is causing a bug in Mailman listserv platform. Normally the bug is fixed in relatively short order. This time that is not happening. He thinks that may be because the user base for Mailman has declined to the point where it is not considered important.  This may be the end of Mailman as a viable listserv platform.
We are evaluating moving to another platform. Currently under consideration are Google Groups, Gaggle, and Discourse. Gaggle and Discourse are more feature rich but cost money ($1200/year). Google groups is free but requires subscribers to have a Google account.
A reminder that the massplanners listserv is run entirely by volunteers. Shout out to Nathan Chung of Northampton and Mariah Kurtz of FRCOG for their assistance with the evaluation and Tim Czerwienski of Beals Associates Inc. for moderating the listserv.
We'll keep you updated.
Alan Pease
CPTC

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://masscptc.org/pipermail/massplanners_masscptc.org/attachments/20250416/a336bca8/attachment.htm>