All, In the past month the membership to both lists has grown, causing the management team to take a closer look at general list operation. A couple of items have come to the attention of the management team and this applies to both the blind-computing, and jaws-users lists. Members that are subscribed to both lists, will get this twice since it will be posted to both lists. 1. Cross-posting Recently, it appears that the number of cross-postings to the list has increased. We need to bring this method of posting to an end. Besides the fact that cross-posting is improper e-mail list etiquet, it's benefits are out-weighed by the problems it causes. Plain and simplly put, it's nothing less than laziness on the part of the poster. This method of posting plays havoc with some peoples message rules in their e-mail client. This practice is annoying, as well as inconsiderate, and discourteous to others. Members should not have to adjust their message rules , to accomodate those who won't take an extra minute or so to post in a proper manner. Additionally, it generates unnecessary list traffic, and actually serves to slow the overall performance of the list. If you want to post the same question to multiple lists, then it should be done on an individual message basis. I currently subscribe to more than 30 lists, and on occasion I will post the same question to several lists, but I do it without cross-posting. If you are subscribed to several lists, as I'm sure many are, then post your question to the list that is most appropriate for it. If you don't recieve an answer, then you can figure 1 of 2 things generally speaking: Either no one on-list has an answer to your question, or the person that has an answer hasn't read the message yet. If you don't get an answer on a specialized list such as for example jaws-users.com, Then post your question to a more generalized list such as blind-computing.com. There is a list of e-mail lists on the resources page at: www.blind-computing.com that includes links to other pages that contain additional e-mail list information. Also, just like placing o/t in the subject field doesn't make it okay to post the message, saying I apologize, or sorry for the cross-posting doesn't excuse the action. Placing this statement in the message says that the poster has only one consideration, and that is themselves. Don't perform the action, and you won't have to apologize for it. For those in an employment situation, I can understand your sense of urgency for an answer to a problem, but you get what you pay for, and if you expect a quick answer to your question, you should be getting tech support on a pay-for basis, where you can have more of a say in how your request is handled. Let's remenmber that e-mail lists are comprised of people of all computing skills, and that noone here is getting paid for the assistance they offer. If you are not in an employment situation, and your questions are aimed at personal computing, then, there should be less of a sense of urgency. Everyone on the list does their best to respond in a timely mmanner. So, we all need to be patient. Keep in mind, that this doesn't mean one type of user is more deserving of help than another. David and I will work on the appropriate wording for this , and it will be added to the list guidelines, at the earliest possible time.
2. File Requests. Recently, we have had some excellent contributions to the list, from within the membership. And we want to encourage this to continue. We will be working on a better system of file distribution, so that when menmbers have files they want to share with the list, we have a way for members to get the file, or files to the management team so that we can make them readily available to all list members. The reason for this, is thatwhen a member posts to the list, that they have files to share, this dramatically increases list traffic and band width. In order to stream the process and make it more efficient, we will see what we can put in place to facilitate this. If we can make this happen, then there will be no need to post to the list asking people to send files privately. If a member has a file that may benefit other users, and he or she wants to send it to another member privately, then they need to take that transaction completely off-list. This will greatly reduce the occurance of people flooding the list with requests for private e-mail attachments. How it works: When a member has a file to share with the list membership, they need only make it available to the management team. At this point, the management team can put the file in an accessible location, and then make the membership aware of that location, with only one post to the list. Now, you can see that 1 message is posted, but the file is available to all members. Instant reduction in redundent messages to the list. 3. Just a reminder, that we all, management team included, need to try and keep our subject lines on track. If David has additional comments he will post them in a seperate post. Richard Justice-list moderator David A. Ferrin list owner www.blind-computing.com www.jaws-users.com Visit the Blind Computing List home page at: http://www.blind-computing.com Address for the list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject or body of a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use the following form in order to contact the management team http://www.blind-computing.com/contact.php If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the following address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
