Support for INN
To our satisfied potential customers:
What makes INN so special?
INN is software for implementing Usenet: transferring, storing, and expiring Usenet articles. INN runs on Unix platforms and is available for free from the Internet Software Consortium in source code form. Because it is available for free, and has a myriad of settings for optimization and use in just about any application, INN is the most popular software used for Usenet servers today. No other news server software is as well-documented or feature-rich. This makes it an excellent choice for news server software.
The requirements of news server software are demanding, and that makes INN (and any news server software) complicated. There are more than 250 entries in the compile-time configuration file controlling the features and behavior of INN. There are 71 distinct man pages describing executables and file formats. There are over 50 topics in the INN installation manual. The FAQ has several hundred questions with answers.
What free support is available?
The Internet Software Consortium has a limited budget for maintaining INN and integrating new features, and little is left over to offer commercial support (such as troubleshooting, documentation improvements, etc.) Fortunately, the wide popularity of INN and availability of source code ensures that there is very strong support by the user community for bug fixes, enhancements, and free advice. This is mostly through the news.software.nntp Usenet newsgroup. Anyone asking a question there generally receives a polite response, even if it is just a pointer to a section in the FAQ. (I read and respond there also.)
Mib Software conceived, developed, and maintains the searchable hypertext WWW site of all of the documentation described above plus more, conveniently organized by category, at
http://www.mibsoftware.com/userkt/forprov.htm
This site was designed with the purpose of making the documentation (and therefore INN) much easier to learn, use and maintain.
Additional support?
Mib Software also provides fee-based consulting services for those who desire more support than is freely available. This should improve the popularity of INN for commercial sites.
- INN configuration, installation, and setup. (From $200.00) (via telnet.)
- Usenet RKT Subscription. Although INN is available for free, getting notice of important changes, bug notices, and patches is often tedious or not reliable. Subscribe and receive the benefits of ongoing INN improvement, as well as notification by e-mail. You won't have to wade through flames, spam, and questions in news.software.nntp You will be supporting INN development and Usenet RKT updates. $15/month keeps you informed and "on-top" of developments, and gives you access to subscriber exclusive sections of the RKT.
- INN upgrades. (There are serious defects in INN1.5.1 and previous versions, including security holes.)
- INN site benchmark and inspection
- Are you getting all the news you expect?
- INN education (explanation, tutorials, advice)
- INN Help Desk
- Explanations/Advice/ responses to questions (via e-mail)
- Problem diagnosis and resolution. (via telnet)
Only $64/hour. in $16 increments. Just email innsup@mibsoftware.com
Out goal is to make you self sufficient, through education.
- INN patches and feature installations
- The INN community answers many needs with freely available patches.
Sometimes they don't install cleanly, or need some "tweaking." We can help.
- INN customization (site-specific features, etc)
Some of these services (such as INN installation) are provided at a fixed "one-time" charge. Others are provided at the standard consulting rate (currently $64/hour, billed in 15 minute increments. Minimum charge: $16.) And longer term projects can be quoted separately.
It is the goal of Mib Software that every Usenet site administrator become completely self-sufficient. The Usenet RKT is the primary method of achieving this goal. But if that is not enough, or you need something more, then we can help. Contact us.
Sincerely,
Forrest J. Cavalier III, owner, Mib Software
[Learn more about INN in the Usenet RKT]
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