MacFixIt Headlines Email List temporarily down

If you subscribe to the MacFixIt Headlines Email List, you have been getting an email of the home page and OS X page headlines emailed to your computer each night. At least you were until a week ago. Many subscribers have asked us what has happened. Here is what we can tell you:

The web host that serves the database that keeps track of the list of subscribers is HostPro (recently merged with Interland). The headlines software itself is maintained on a separate server hosted by pair. In order for the email to get sent out, the software on pair needs to access the software on HostPro. However, last week, HostPro closed the Internet port that is needed for this access. It apparently did this as part of some firewall protection. In any case, we asked that the port be reopened. They promised to do so. But they so far have not. We have requested again and again that they do so. It has now been over a week and they still have not fixed this.

Bottom line: No headlines emails have been delivered during this time.

Are we annoyed by this? Yes. Did we expect this to be fixed last week? Yup. Is it especially frustrating coming on the heels of the Forums server problems? Definitely. We apologize on all counts. Unfortunately, we currently have no idea if or when this will be fixed. If we learn more, we will let you know.