Ann-Marie L. Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>
>I think why some people may have left or slowed down on responding is
>because of the amount of unnecessary messages. Some people have to pay for
>the time it takes to download and send their mail,, that's why some get very
>upset when a picture is sent to the list,, those take time to download
>costing the person some money.
>
>With a lot of unnecessary messages if forces some to start picking and
>choosing what messages are deleted before being read, causing them to
>possibly miss important info and good questions. Also alot of messages end
>up being skimmed over instead of read completely causing them to miss
>important questions and information.
I think one of the problems is that many of the more experienced people
here simply do not have the time to sort through what requires an answer
and what doesn't. There are people who have jobs, families, and
sometimes running a society or other organisation to keep them occupied.
I know when I am busy I often leave the repeated questions that I know
are answered elsewhere due to lack of time, and a hope that someone else
will answer. I also don't answer if I think there is someone on the GML
who is in a better position to answer than I am.
The following is not meant to be a lecture on "how to post to the GML"
but it is some hints that will help you get your question answered.
I know many people do this already, but it makes a lot of difference if
a question is clearly set out. For example, using the subject line to
set out how urgent the issue is. For example, "Emergency - Sick Pup".
The text of the question should be broken up and separated from any
block of text describing the background or providing other information.
If there is more than one question start each one on a new line and
number them.
The following is a good example of a recent question that was easy to
answer and got six responses:
"HI folks i just subscribed to the gerbil mailing list. I have 2 male
gerbils(mongolian) .one looks like a chipmunk and the other has a white
head with a light gray body. I have a few questions.
1. I live in the North so it gets really cold in the winter time (30-40
Fahrenheit). I know that they are desert creatures so how can i keep
them warm?
2. Can gerbils be taught tricks, and do they respond to their names?
3. What should i buy them to play with?
4. I covered the "hamster wheel" with paper. But they still won `t run
in it. What should i do [im dying to see them run in it] ? "
I see a lot of people have been setting things out this way recently.
Another good idea is after you have done your research on the internet
looking for an answer, briefly state those places you have already
looked for an answer. IE, "I have checked the FAQ, and read two pages on
ailments in gerbils but I can't see any description of my gerbils
symptoms." This allows those answering the question to know that this is
something new that needs special attention and helps make sure that this
sort of thing will get included in future updates etc.
--
Julian
************************************************************************
* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
************************************************************************
