…… Timebomb's Emergency Alert System?

I tried to search for this, but since every post nowadays has "emergency" or "alert" in it, I couldn't find what I wanted.

Some time back, I read that Timebomb has a type of emergency alert system where people call/email other members when TS has HTF.

I can't find the post now, and can't remember exactly how that works. Could someone please fill me in or point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

It no longer exists.

I would be interested also

Yeah, I/someone has to re-write the PHP script for it, and create a database for the entries. I can create the database, but I don't have time to write the PHP.

I have trolled here for years…and only recently registered. I would like to see an email system also…..if that is possible. I live in Japan…and I would not mind and cell phone email to alert me to current events.

Just a thought. I too would be interested. The may the military does it is like this:

Each member has the phone number and email of five other members.

The first alerter calls his five people. They each call thier five and in less than two minutes several thousand people are alerted. This way any given person only gives out his person information to one person, and receives information from only five people.

It works but would require someone to make of a list of each person who would call whom. The private information could then be transmitted via pms.

I don't know if this would work (if not, please disregard) but could a thread be started that any member could subscribe to which, once posted, would be emailed to all subscribed members? The thread could be set up and locked and only an administrator could post to the thread, further indicating the urgency of the emergency.

Dennis Olson said:

Yeah, I/someone has to re-write the PHP script for it, and create a database for the entries. I can create the database, but I don't have time to write the PHP.

Click to expand...

Dennis, please reply here or PM with more information. I'd be happy to pick this up. Please let me know how you'd like the events triggered. It might be possible to add a new prefix and trigger based off that. I could also just develop a completely separate web interface for this, perhaps dipping into the board's user table so we don't need to maintain another user information database.

Of course, I'm interested in other suggestions, both from Dennis and other members here.

PHP/mysql coding is well within my realm as well if i could be of any use, just give specs needed and an example output from describe db regarding the fields needed to query and it shouldnt take a couple of hours to pound out code

The way it was set-up before, each member who signed up entered several methods for contact. A couple email addies, a few phone numbers, etc. There were several "co-ordinators" assigned to split-up the load of notifying people. They had printed lists of peoples' contact info, and when the alert would go out, all numbers/addies would be contacted.

These days, I'd love to see that automated ( I know it can be done; I've seen mass auto-notifications at larger IT shops when a system went down.) I also want to tie the registration system into the logon system here at TB, so only members could sign up.

So the database is just member name and contact info, hardly a technical challenge. It's just that coding the sign-up form and notification script will take far more time than I can allocate for the foreseeable future.

And you can search early alert system here and see lots of threads discussing the original version which I and a handful of others developed, as well as the periodic ideas to resurrect it.

The challenge, even if Dennis was able to do what he mentioned was pumpiing out the emails FAST enough to make it worthwhile. That challenge hasn't really changed but in many ways, due to spam detectors and spam blockers that we really didn't have to contend with back then, has gotten worse from the standpoint of email being an effective notification method.

And NavyDad, this group at TB2K, is VERY reluctant to give out their phone numbers and/or physical address to anyone. That was part of the original system with a similar concept except the handful of EAS Coordinators (12 to be exact) were the ONLY ones that had the lists and would call. We had 2 Coordinators in each North American timezone and some in Canada and then a couple of Admins and Techies to make sure it all worked correctly.

The way it worked was that an email blast WAS the first level of communications. We developed the original version and then tested and tweaked all summer of 2001. There are stories still on threads here about how one of my tests was already scheduled for 9/11/2001...but THAT is a whole nuther story...and showed us how bad email could be on a tough day on the Internet.

The second level was a phone call if something big was happening in your immediate AO.

The third level, assuming a real TSHTF TEOTWAWKI scenario was the physical address...just so we knew where like minded folks lived and could at least check on you if possible...hopefully without getting shot by you.

We never really tested any of the processes except email and we only actually used the email alerts a handful of times relative to stuff in the year or so after 9/11 like the anthrax scares, etc.

One of our techies who ultimately wrote a relatively fast emailer lost his access to that server and so we let the whole thing die at that point.

Kris

i love the idea of this as there are times when my only link to the world is my cell phone

ts Could HTF and i would have no clue till i got to the first "Check point"

If anyone is interested in BlackBerry PIN messaging - like SMS on steroids PLUS multi-party IM, (but without the need to give out your phone number) I did attempt to start a group.

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=279544&highlight=blackberry

Read the 1st post and PM me with questions.

If you want to use it, there are member PINS there for you, if you want to be able to be reached, leave your PIN there.

P.S. Your PIN is not your PW or any other identifying information but is a unique code to ID the device itself as unique from all other BBs.

wouldnt be hard to build a php interface for it, store all in mysql, with a perl daemon sitting waiting to be triggered by an admin to start hitting everything. sms/texts could be send via email depending on the carrier, which id suggest the person signing up would select so that it would be an additional email addy for the daemon to send a mail to. perling a mass sendmail without tripping spam filters shouldnt be that difficult, specially if anyone has a server they could allow a second daemon to sit on as well, perhaps split up the methods to be piped out through 2 servers etc...

if each user signing up as well chose from a list of regions to be alerted about, again thats still a one line sqlquery to get the array of what all users to activate etc

perhaps this thread should be devoted to hammering out the specs, then we can code it. i dont mind puttin in some of my spare time on something useful like this, and testing out chunks on one of my boxes before handing it off for someone else to test

added: oh, kinda far out there but plausible... if someone has a pbx that could be hit in an emergency, and wouldnt mind sitting a box at, could throw phone numbers at it to call and play one of a number of short audio files non descriptly suggesting they check their mail etc.

I would like to see some sort of blinking icon (to be activated only during a real emergency) on the main page that indicates some sort of real emergency has taken place which would indicate to those currently registered to go to a specific room within tb2k for more specific information relating to that incident.
There would be no reference to what type of emergency on the main page.. those of us currently registered would know where to to go find out more as to what's going on.

Probably just as useful to get one or more automated "headline" news alerts sent to your email (such as CNN). They are largely responsible for this mess (hiding the truth), so why not burden their god-forsaken servers?

While I don't frequent CNN for analysis or "what's really going on", where there are crisis-level events (stock, 911, etc.), CNN will send-out an email.

TB2K is *awesome*, but the crisis-level threshold is high enough that even the fakesters on the Boob Toob (mass media) will announce such events.