Old managers can benefit from new IT practices. Sometimes the improvements can be as straightforward as new connections. Connect, the user group that remained after Interex closed down 14 years ago, has opened a Slack channel for communication between owners and administrators of HP systems.

Although the 3000-L mailing list has been keeping its head above water over the last year, the responses as well as the questions are on the decline. Not to say that knowing how to let a 3000 release a printer, or finding a way to repair a frozen update, are not valuable lessons. Sometimes these threads don't deliver answers fast enough.

Here's where it's important to point out that the 3000 and MPE are systems of a great age and many accomplishments. One recent thread on the 3000-L took note that the company's 3000 couldn't be taken offline much, if at all. That's a server that needs personal, professional support attention.

If a 3000 is less mission-critical than that, quick communication with other managers in the community holds promise. Connect has opened up a Slack channel and it could become useful if 3000 folks arrived. Connect membership is free, focused on enterprise systems, and its Slack is built so anybody could make use of it. It's got a serious NonStop membership now. There are many channels on this Slack feed.

This is a tool that is a full generation ahead of a mailing list or even blog posts with comments. If you're interested in getting a real-time chat tool working for your MPE support issues, Connect's Slack channel is available at connect-communityhq.slack.com