ADMIN: Using Iris-L
- To: i*@Rt66.com
- Subject: ADMIN: Using Iris-L
- From: t*@lanl.gov (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 14:41:02 -0600
There are a couple things that I want to make sure everyone
understands. I apologize in advance for the note of peevishness
that pervades this message. It's a clever rhetorical device to
ensure that everyone is listening. ;)
1. HOW TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT USING THIS LIST
Recently, I've been getting more and more people writing to me
with questions like "How do I leave the list?", "How do I go on
digest?", etc. I answer all such requests, but they are an
irritation because the ANSWERS ARE IN THE WELCOME MESSAGE that
everyone got upon joining the list, complete with instructions to
READ it and SAVE it. Furthermore, the same information is
available at the Iris-L web site http://www.rt66.com/~telp/garden.htm
As the listowner, I am your point of contact for *problems* or
questions that you cannot find an answer to. I volunteered for
that responsibility and I do not mind doing it. But please read
your welcome message first. The answer is probably there.
By the way, the listserver computer program is not very tolerant
of creative variations on the commands you send it. The welcome
message has the correct syntax for each command. Follow those
instructions! Every time someone guesses how to use a command and
guesses wrong, I get another error message in my personal mail
box.
Finally, DO NOT post questions like "How do I unsubscribe?" to
the list for all to read. This is a waste of bandwidth and an
irritation for 200 people! First read the welcome message or the
info on the web site, then, if you still need help, write to me
at telp@Rt66.com
2. SUBJECT LINES
We're still not a model for relevant subject lines. We need to do
better. I create the archive indexes by hand, and the process
makes it painfully clear how often inappropriate subject lines
are used on this list. Here's a few points to remember:
- "Re:"--In the age of paper letters this meant "regarding"; in
email it means "in reply to". Don't start a new topic by using
"Re:" in your subject line, that's confusing. Most mail readers
insert "Re:" into the subject line when you reply to mail. This
lets everyone see that your reply is in the same "thread" as the
original posting. Don't make needless minor changes to the
subject line. If you get a message with the subject "Dykes
Medal", and your reply is still on this topic, don't change it to
"Dykes Medal winners" or "the Dykes Medal". This just adds
clutter to the archives and makes it harder to follow a thread.
- DO change the subject line when the topic of discussion drifts
away from that on the subject line. It's easy to neglect this,
and everyone makes mistakes, but please try to make a habit of
checking the subject line before you send. It's bad enough to
have bad subject lines in the normal operation of the list, but
it's disastrous in the archives. Imagine someone reading all the
indexes, finally finding a message with the subject "Re: Cure for
Rot", sending a request to the listserver, waiting a day for the
file to return, then locating the message in the file just to
discover that the only text in the message is "Hey Joe, I like
the story about your wet sneakers!"
Three simple rules for subject lines:
1. If you're starting a brand new topic, type in a clear,
descriptive subject line.
2. If you're replying to a posting, your mail reader will
automatically duplicate the subject line of the original posting,
with "Re:" inserted if necessary. If the content of your reply
matches the subject line reasonably well, leave it alone.
3. If you're replying to a posting and the content of your reply
doesn't match the topic indicated in the subject line, change it
to something better.
We'll never achieve perfection, but let's try to get the fraction
of mislabeled messages down below 5%...
Reading the welcome message and using appropriate subject lines
are _responsibilities_ for everyone who uses this list. They're
not just helpful ideas, they are part of what you agree to when
you choose to participate in this list. Many subscribers pay
attention to these responsibilities (and I thank you!), but some
don't, which ends up inconveniencing others and degrading the
usefulness of the list.
Thanks in advance, Tom.
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Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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