ADMIN: Periodic Administrative Posting

[TECHWR-L Administrator <admin -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM>]

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BASIC TECHWR-L INFORMATION (Revised 31 July 1998)

     Q: How do I subscribe to TECHWR-L?
     A: Send a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SUB TECHWR-L first_name last_name

        For example:
        SUB TECHWR-L Eric Ray

     Q: How do I unsubscribe?
     A: Send a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        UNSUB TECHWR-L

     Q: How do I post messages to the TECHWR-L list?
     A: Send a message to:
        TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

     Q: What are digests and how do I get them?
     A: Digests are daily mailings which include all
        postings to TECHWR-L from the last 24 hours. These
        are unedited, and unmoderated--they just give you
        one big message instead of many little ones.
        To get digests (assuming you are a subscriber),
        send a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SET TECHWR-L DIGEST

     Q: My digests are coming through as lots of little attachments
        rather than a single longer file--can I fix it?
     A: Usually you can fix that--although it depends to an extent
        on your email system. Try sending a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SET TECHWR-L NOMIME

     Q: My digests are coming through as a single long file
        but I'd rather have a bunch of little attachments. Can
        I change it?
     A: Depending on your mail system, you might be able to change it.
        Try sending a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SET TECHWR-L MIME

     Q: I want to stop my mail or digest, but I don't want to unsubscribe
        because I hate that confirmation process. What do I do?
     A: To stop your mail or digest (assuming you are a subscriber),
        send a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SET TECHWR-L NOMAIL

     Q: I stopped my mail using NOMAIL, and now I want regular mail.
        What do I do?
     A: To change back to regular mail,
        send a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SET TECHWR-L MAIL

     Q: I got digests, and now I want regular mail. What do
        I do?
     A: To change from digests back to regular mail,
        send a message to:
        LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU

        Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
        first line of the message:
        SET TECHWR-L MAIL

     Q: I would rather read TECHWR-L through a newsgroup. Is this
        possible?
     A: Unfortunately, it's no longer possible. The gateway died
        and I've had no luck in getting responses from anyone
        who could fix it.

     Q: I would like to use a Web browser to read TECHWR-L. Can I?
        You can read TECHWR-L through the archive address at
        http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html.
        To post, you'll have to subscribe and use the
        "SET TECHWR-L NOMAIL" command, as described above.

     Q: I'd like to learn more about the list, find topic summaries,
        and get all-in-one-spot access to instructions, rules, and
        related information about TECHWR-L. Where should I go?
     A: Find all of this information and more at the Official
        TECHWR-L Web Site at http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS AND RESOLUTIONS

     Q: Why am I having trouble posting to the list?
     A: Due to problems with spamming, the TECHWR-L list
        is restricted. Only subscribers to the list can
        post. If you are a subscriber but your E-mail address
        (as shown on your outgoing messages) has changed, you'll
        have problems. Contact the list owner with your old
        and current addresses. (Note: There's no point in getting
        surly -- subscription and verification of your identity
        both take place automatically via the listserv. If, as is
        highly likely, your address changed without your knowledge,
        your local system administrators are the only ones to yell
        at.)

     Q: Why did my message bounce back from Compuserve (or AOL or
        any other address besides something at LISTSERV.OKSTATE.EDU)?
     A: You post an article. You get a bounce message a few minutes
        later. You swear, "Rats, it didn't work." You post again.
        Trouble is, you can get a bounce message because there's one
        bad address on the subscriber list (someone who didn't
        unsubscribe before losing an account, for instance). The
        bounce message generally tells you that, if read carefully--
        or you could just wait and see if your article shows up.
        So, before reposting a "bounced" article, please be sure
        it was truly bounced from the LIST and not just undeliverable
        to a single addressee. Contact the listowner before reposting
        if you have any doubt. (Thanks to Stan Brown for this one. EJR)

     Q: I tried to post a message summary and had it returned to me with
        the comment that it was too long. What should I do?
     A: There's a length limit of 250 lines on postings, including headers
        and other technical content. This limit exists to keep binary
        attachments from polluting the list and to discourage wholesale
        quotations--like including the entire digest for a one liner comment.
        Please break your summary into parts of no more than 220 lines each
        and post each part separately.

GENERAL INFORMATION

     Q: Where can I find FAQs and other information about TECHWR-L
        and about technical communication in general?
     A: At the Official TECHWR-L Web site, which you'll find at
        http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/. You'll also find the
        latest information about the list, links to archives, and
        a ton of other information.

     Q: Are archives for TECHWR-L available on the Web and how do I get them?
     Q: Dear Listowner, I inadvertently deleted some Techwhirl messages
        and need them back. Could you please send me....
     A: TECHWR-L archives are available through the Web at
        http://www.documentation.com/techwrit/techwrit-l.htm
        and at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
        and at http://www.dejanews.com/ and http://www.reference.com/
        and probably other places.

     Q: Where can I get more information about the books mentioned
        on this list?
     A: You can find a list of many of the books mentioned, complete
        with links to purchase online, in the TECHWR-L Web site at
        http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/books.htm. Additionally, the
        resources page in the same site links to John Renish's exhaustive
        Books document.

     Q: Why is it that you let other people post off-topic stuff, but
        then you remind me about what the posting guidelines are? If
        they can do it, I can do it!
     A: The listowner does NOT moderate this list. That is, everything
        sent to the list appears on the list. Phrased differently,
        the listowner cannot exercise any control over what other people
        post, but probably reminded them about the posting guidelines
        as well.

     Q: Who is responsible for the information posted to the
        list, and who controls what gets posted?
     A: The listowner and Oklahoma State University are not
        responsible for anything posted to the list. The list is public
        and unmoderated, so people who choose to post claim full
        responsibility for anything posted under their respective
        addresses and userids. The POSTMASTER@<whatever the address is>
        is the only other person with any control over individual
        postings from any userid.

     Q: I have a message that would interest many of the subscribers,
        but don't want to post it to the whole list. Can I just get the
        list of subscribers and send it myself, or at least send selectively
        to many subscribers.
     A: If you take addresses of TECHWR-L subscribers and misuse them
        in any way and I find out, I'll permanently remove you from the
        list and do everything in my power to get your email access
        suspended by your employer or ISP. (I've always been successful
        in the past.)

     Q: What is STC and how do I contact them?
     A: STC is the Society for Technical Communication, and is
        main professional organization for technical
        and scientific communicators. Any questions, comments
        or suggestions for STC should go to:

        Society for Technical Communication
        901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
        Arlington VA 22203-1854
        703/522-4114
        membership -at- stc-va -dot- org
        http://www.stc-va.org or http://www.stc.org/

     Q: How do STC and TECHWR-L relate?
     A: They don't officially. Many STC members are on the list,
        but most aren't. Many list subscribers are STC members,
        but many aren't.

     Q: Where do I send additions, corrections, and comments about
        this posting?
     A: To Eric, the listowner, of course. EJRAY -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM

*********************************************************************
Eric J. Ray                                        TECHWR-L Listowner
ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com                             http://www.raycomm.com/

Syndicated columnist: Rays on Computing
Technology Department Editor, _Technical Communication_
Co-author of _Unix Visual Quickstart Guide_, _Mastering HTML 4_,
_Dummies 101: HTML 4_, _HTML 4 for Dummies Quick Reference_, others.

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