TO: GCN Customers
RE: GCN Operations during a US Government Shutdown
DT: 08 Apr 11

(Apologies to those that get this announcement twice;
once from the Notices list and once from the Circulars list.)


INTRODUCTION:
There is a significant probability that the US Congress
will not pass a Budget or Continuing Resolution by midnight
tonight (04:00 UT 09 Apr 11).  This means that the government
is not allowed to incur costs for non-critical activities,
and this means things like the internet at GSFC are turned off,
and this means GCN is cut off from the world.


WHAT and WHEN:
There is uncertainty about what functions within NASA-Goddard
will stop and when they will stop.  They could stop
somewhat before the 04:00UT time (because some things 
have to be done while people can still be paid);
or they might not stop until Monday morning.


GCN NOTICES:
The Notices portion of GCN will _stop_.
My current understanding of the implementation of the shutdown
is that the firewall at the Goddard "fence" will be configured
to block all incoming and all outgoing traffic.  As such,
nothing can get in, and nothing can get out.  This applies
to both the socket-based connections to GCN and the email-based
distributions (full format, cellphone, etc).


GCN CIRCULARS:
The Circulars portion of GCN will _continue_ to function -- it will NOT stop.
This is because it is being transferred to a machine at
the U. of Chicago (thanks to the generous offer by Carlo Graziani).
This transfer does mean that you will have to send your
Circular submissions to:  gcncirc@kazoo.uchicago.edu
(Note that the "gcncirc" part stays the same; only the domain
changes from the "capella2.gsfc.nasa.gov" to "kazoo.uchicago.edu".)
The vetting-and-distribution list has been transferred
as well as the distribution program itself.  Everything will appear
and function the same as before (with the single exception
of the domain you send your submissions).


GCN WEBSITE:
With the blocking of in/out traffic at the Goddard firewall,
the GCN website will not be accessible.