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Subject:Re: LIST options change From:Paul Trummel <trummel -at- U -dot- WASHINGTON -dot- EDU> Date:Tue, 15 Feb 1994 08:08:18 -0800
I strongly support the following comments and suggestions by Dean Elzinga.
Paul Trummel
Department of Technical Communication
University of Washington
email: trummel -at- u -dot- washington -dot- edu
fax: 206-227-9486
vox: 206-227-9486
On Mon, 14 Feb 1994, Dean Elzinga wrote:
> I was very pleased to see the new change in list reply policy. Now it
> seems like people who oppose the change have decided to complain
> loudly enough that Eric will have to change it back. Let me add my
> vote of support to Eric's original, strong case.
> It is not too hard to create an alias for TECHWR-L and send mail to
> that alias when you want to post to the list. When you choose to
> reply, change the "To:" field to this alias.
> In own opinion, it should be harder to post to the list than to reply
> personally. This is standard behavior for at least one other mailing
> list that I receive. How many times does one person post to the list
> in a single day? I think that the time lost by one person in that
> single post is much less than the time we all save collectively by not
> having to read as many inappropriate followups.
> I personally send five times as many personal followups as postings to
> the list. I am happy that this new facility lets me simply "Reply"
> rather than trying to dig the name of the original sender out of the
> message header. I would much rather type "tw" once in a while than
> type "Dorothy -at- the -dot- land -dot- of -dot- oz" (and four different, unaliased mail
> addresses) five times a day.
> The "Sender:" field of TECHWR-L still lists TECHWR-L, not the
> individual contributer. So, depending on your mail software, you
> should be able to distinguish between personal mail and TECHWR-L.
> I like the metaphor of talk at a party. With most mail systems, it is
> easy to "Reply-All" to send mail to a group. I use this approach all
> the time at work. We have work-related mailing lists, but I often
> have a very particular question, and I address only to a small group.
> Digests are another perfectly acceptable alternative for many people.
> The normal LISTSERV digest goes out every day, and all you have to do
> is send mail to the LISTSERV address to begin it. I am surprised that
> this should be any different for AOL subscribers.
> Have a heart, people. It takes less time to type "tw" than to wade
> through 20 messages or subject lines.
> --
> ____ Dean Elzinga
> \ / Inference Corp
> \/ elzinga -at- inference -dot- com
