TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Q: How do I subscribe to TECHWR-L?
A: Send a message to:
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Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
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SUB TECHWR-L first_name last_name
For example:
SUB TECHWR-L Eric Ray
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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),
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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
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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:
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Put anything on the subject line, and include on the
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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),
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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:
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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
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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/
Q: Who is the listowner and how do I contact him?
A: Eric Ray is the owner (that's me), and my address is
EJRAY -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM
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: 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: 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 RayComm, Inc. http://www.raycomm.com/ ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com
*Award-winning author of several popular computer books
*Syndicated columnist: Rays on Computing
*Technology Department Editor, _Technical Communication_
