As most of you know, pianosa is going away soon. Why?
Well, basically, I don’t have the time anymore. The box has been sucking up space on Andrew Ho’s DSL for the last year, and really, is that necessary?
No.
Most of the people who co-admin pianosa with me have already gone in on a colocated box (ratchet, which you can maybe join for a small fee), and I really haven’t had the time to keep the box secure or operate services reliably since theo was born. And honestly, the box has served it’s purpose. It was a good playground for me to learn how to run services, but I’m long past needing that. Hell, I’m not even a systems administrator anymore.
The community that has built up around pianosa isn’t just being cut adrift. The IRC and news servers will remain active, and I’ll still do some DNS hosting. For the rest of it — I’ve been a crutch for many people who have not wanted to make the time or effort to support their own presence. And while there’s no reason that everybody should be self-sufficient, I no longer have the energy to be that crutch. That which must be centralized — fine. The rest, you’re own your own.
It has been a lot of fun, and I’m not completely vanishing into the woodwork. But my wife and son deserve more of my time, and by god they shall have it!