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.
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Revised 1 January 2002
BASIC TECHWR-L INFORMATION
In this message, you will find the following:
* SUMMARY
* GENERAL TECHWR-L INFORMATION
* POSSIBLE PROBLEMS AND RESOLUTIONS
* COMMON ISSUES AND QUESTIONS
GENERAL TECHWR-L INFORMATION
Q: How do I post messages to the TECHWR-L list?
A: Send a _plain_ _text_ message to:
TECHWR-L -at- LISTS -dot- RAYCOMM -dot- COM
If you are having problems sending a plain text message,
please check first with your system administrators and
see if your Microsoft Exchange server is set to send
only formatted text. Usually, problems with sending
plain text occur when system administrators do not realize
how their Exchange server is configured.
Q: How do I filter TECHWR-L messages into a separate folder
within my email program?
A: Great idea! The specifics on filtering TECHWR-L mail
will vary, depending on the email software you use,
but you can count on TECHWR-L messages having a TO:
line including:
techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
so you should set your filters to move messages with that
TO: line to a separate folder.
Q: I would rather read TECHWR-L through a newsgroup than to
get all of these messages in my email program. Is this possible?
A: Absolutely! The bit.listserv.techwr-l newsgroup (widely
distributed throughout the Internet) is a mirror of this
list. Alternatively, you can access a private newsgroup
from news://lists.raycomm.com/techwr-l (which is a spam-free
TECHWR-L mirror).
Q: Can I post to bit.listserv.techwr-l?
A: Yes, but your posts will not get propagated to the mailing
list (they will only be visible to people reading the
newsgroup). You must subscribe to TECHWR-L in order to
post to the mailing list.
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://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/archives.html.
To post, you'll have to subscribe and send the
"SET TECHWR-L NOMAIL" command to LYRIS -at- LISTS -dot- RAYCOMM -dot- COM -dot-
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.
Additionally, the first posts from new subscribers
are moderated, so there will be a delay in your first
posting appearing on the list.
If you are a subscriber but your E-mail address
(as shown on your outgoing messages) has changed, you'll
have problems and have to make your subscribed address
match the address from which you post.
You can do this either through the Web site at http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/subscribercentral.html
or by unsubscribing (using the instructions at the end of
every message you get from the list) and resubscribing.
(Note: There's no point in getting surly -- subscription and
verification of your identity both take place automatically
via the Lyris software. 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 Earthlink (or AOL or
any other address besides something @lists.raycomm.com)?
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 whole 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 and had it returned to me with
a rejection message about attachments or HTML or something.
What's going on, and what should I do?
A: The list processing software is set to reject all HTML-
formatted messages as well as all attachments. Additionally,
messages containing more than 30 consecutive quoted lines
will also be returned. These limits exist to keep attachments
from polluting the list (they show up as garbage for many
readers, and can spread viruses and the like when they don't
end up as garbage) and to discourage wholesale quotations--like
including the entire digest for a one liner comment.
Q: I can't email a plain text message and my system administrator
isn't helpful--does that mean I cannot post to TECHWR-L?
A: You can post directly through the Web site at http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/subscribercentral.html
or could get a free Web-based email account (from yahoo.com,
for example) and use that for posting.
COMMON ISSUES AND QUESTIONS
Q: Can I get spam from using TECHWR-L?
A: Raycomm does not distribute, sell, rent, or allow
lists of email addresses from TECHWR-L (the site or
the list) to otherwise become available. Additionally,
when there is a clear connection between TECHWR-L and
spam, we aggressively pursue all available remedies
against the spammers.
That said, postings to TECHWR-L are archived on the Web,
mirrored to a Usenet newsgroup, and sent to some 5000
subscribers. Any address used for posting to TECHWR-L
is not a secret, and certainly not immune to being
collected by automated email address collection tools
on the Internet.
If you suspect you received spam as a direct result
of using TECHWR-L, contact Eric at ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-
Do not post to the list about your suspicions--the
Rays have strong convictions about spam and the like,
and tend to react very negatively to being directly
or indirectly accused of being in cahoots with them.
Q: In a moment of pique, I posted some information to
TECHWR-L that I really regret. Could you please
remove my posting from the archives.
A: That's quite unfortunate. Given the fact that
TECHWR-L postings are immediately mirrored to
Usenet (and the various Usenet archives that exist),
multiple Web sites, and sent to some 5000 subscribers,
anything posted to TECHWR-L effectively becomes
public information, and eradicating all copies becomes
virtually impossible. To avoid the issues that could
arise with selectively removing messages from the archives,
not to mention the futility of doing so, we simply do
not remove postings from the TECHWR-L archives.
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 generally moderate this list. That is,
virtually 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. In unusual cases, the listowner
does moderate posting from specific individuals, or filter
messages (sight unseen) based on specific keywords or content
in the message.
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: No. You can post an ad through http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/postad.html
but that is your only option.
