V4.01 January 2002
From DreamHost
0. Introduction. 1. Webmail.yourdomain.com released! 2. SSH2 and SFTP support! 3. Edit DreamBook Entries! 4. Mailing Lists Confirmed Opt-In! 5. DHSOTM 6. Random quotes from newdream.net. ######################################################################## 0. Introduction. Well, we're really in it now: the dead of winter. You're probably busy shoveling snow or scraping ice off your windshield, shivering and miserable. So take a break already! Come inside and cuddle up with this warm winter-edition DreamHost newsletter! Not *physically* warm mind you (unless you're reading it on a laptop and aren't wearing any pants), but warm in a heart and soul kind of way that's EVEN BETTER. It's like you can ACTUALLY FEEL the heat coming over the ethernet from our headquarters in sunny L.A. direct to your frozen buns in Bangor, Maine. Bangor, Maine? I hardly know her! Ha! Sorry about that! Old, stupid joke! Not even funny! Can't quit making it though! I'll try and stop. I promise. How about this... I'll try and keep them to a minimum if YOU keep reading this newsletter. Newsletter? I hardly know her! ######################################################################## 1. Webmail.yourdomain.com released! If this doesn't warm your toesies and melt your frozies, I don't know what will... We've now officially launched our system for web-based access to your DreamHost email! In case you didn't read last month's newsletter, that means ALL domains hosted with us now have http://webmail.domain.com/ set up for anywhere, anytime, IMAP-based access to their mailboxes via any web browser! Web browser? I hardly know her! You can get more information at its new Knowledge Base area here: https://kbase.newdream.net/?area=2527 ######################################################################## 2. SSH2 and SFTP support! But wait there's more HOT new features (well, at least luke warm) we've added for you (the cold ones) in the last month! This time it's for anybody who has SHELL access (that is, NOT just ftp), and it goes a little something like this: We've upgraded the version of SSH on all our servers to version 2! It offers even greater security, but is incompatible with version 1 clients. We still have version 1 running, but within the next few months we will be turning it off. There will be lots more warning announcements before then, don't worry! What we recommend you do now (or as soon as possible) if you log in to our servers via TELNET or SSH is to start using SSH version 2 instead. If your current client doesn't support it, here are some resources for just about all operating systems! A good overview list is at: http://www.freessh.org/ For Windows, we recommend "Putty": http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty.html For Macintosh OS9 and below, we recommend "MacSSH": http://www.macssh.com/ For UNIX, Linux, and Mac OSX, the command line version (both the commercial and OpenSSH versions) and several graphical shells are available. (Basically you should just have to type "ssh" from the command line.) But wait, there's more security news! We now offer SFTP support on all our servers to securely ftp files to and from our machines! However, it's currently only available to shell accounts. Regular FTP will of course also continue to work forever! For Windows: WS_FTP has support for this, as does the commercial version of CuteFTP. For Mac OS9 and below, http://www.macssh.com/ has a graphical SFTP client. For UNIX, Linux, and Mac OSX there may already be a command line version installed on your system! Wow, we've got more features than Inspector Gadget! Inspector Gadget? I hardly know her! ######################################################################## 3. Edit DreamBook Entries! Believe it or not, a lot of you cool customers use our DreamBook service for a guestbook on your site. And believe it or not, DreamBook didn't used to allow you to edit entries that users posted. You could delete entries and repost them as the original signer, but it was hardly efficient. And in this sort of weather, you want to make sure everything you do is as efficient as possible, that's for durn sure! So.. we just made it much easier for you to fix typos or change the meaning of any entry in your DreamBook guestbook! Just go to http://manage.dreambook.com/, log in, choose the appropriate book, and click "Manage Entries"! From there it should be pretty clear how to edit those old posts! It's especially useful now that DreamBook can act as a weblog too! What good is a weblog where you can't edit your own articles? As good as an rubber innertube over Niagra Falls! Rubber innertube? I hardly know her! ######################################################################## 4. Mailing Lists Confirmed Opt-In! And now, the last new feature introduced this month for you, our frigid friends! It's a small but important change to the way our Mailing Lists (the announcement ones, not the discussion ones) work. Now, when people sign up for your list via the form you've placed on your website they'll be sent a short confirmation email with a special url for them to visit to confirm their subscription. This "confirmed opt-in" policy is the generally accepted standard for mailing list inclusion, and really is something we should have added a long time ago. It helps both you and your list subscribers out by making doubly sure everybody who gets your emails really wanted it, which cuts down on spam accusations and general unhappiness for all! You can still add to and manage your membership list (useful for say transferring a mailing list from another service) through our web panel. The only difference now is that we track in the database whether an email address was added there or whether it was confirmed by the user themselves. This information is now included in the footer of all mailing list messages sent out, along with a direct link for the user to unsubscribe. Since the need for you to write your own custom unsubscribe footer for your mailing is now eliminated we've taken that field out of the Mailing List area of our web panel. One final note! If a user unsubscribes from your list via the link at the bottom of an email they get, their email will be added to a list of addresses that can ONLY subscribe to lists via the confirmed opt-in method (rather than via the web panel by you). So if you are trying to add somebody's email address through the web panel and it isn't working, it's because they're in that list! For them to subscribe they'll have to do it themselves from your web site's form! All of this will Ehelp you keep your mailing list complaint-free and running smoothly! So all your customers can happily receive their astrological fortunes, Star Wars rumors, Fiddler on the Roof updates, or whatever it may be that your mailing list offers! Fiddler on the roof? I hardly know her! ######################################################################## 5. DHSOTM This month's DHSOTM winner (who remember, now gets nothing more than the warm fuzzy feeling of public recognition) is none other than: http://www.fuzzygroove.com/ Which is really an impressive site and deserves every vote that got them here! Self-described as "music : activism : art : design : philosophy" the site is really beautiful, yet filled with intersting content too. There's mp3s to download, online petitions to sign, an interesting discussion board, and lots more... I don't recommend visiting with a text-only browser though! You won't get nearly the effect intended by the site's creator. Creator? I hardly know her! ######################################################################## 6. Random quotes from newdream.net. By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart. -- Confucius Q: Why do ducks have big flat feet? A: To stamp out forest fires. Q: Why do elephants have big flat feet? A: To stamp out flaming ducks. Some changes are so slow, you don't notice them. Others are so fast, they don't notice you. Has anyone ever tasted an "end"? Are they really bitter? Bitter End? I hardly know her! -- Josh ########################################################################
