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Subject:Re: LIST options change From:Dean Elzinga <elzinga -at- INFERENCE -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 14 Feb 1994 19:32:31 PST
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
