Hi, Matt
The list software deletes all attachments I think
It may also convert HTML mail into text (Alden ??)
The result of this is that the download time for a few hundred bytes of text
is very short, even on 56k dial-up
Your message was 1956 bytes (0.35 secs on 56k dialup) (0.04 secs on 512k
DSL)
I really don't think this is an issue
Ask away, we all have a delete facility
Graham
PS Will you be at OTW 2006 ?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Matthew Szostak" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 7:28 PM
Subject: [HG] List etiquette: Subjects of limited interest?
I know that this has been touched on before, but I would like to try to get
a sense of the group's feeling.
As we all know, not all subjects of discussion on this list are of
interest to all members. I was going to ask a question of a technical
nature which may be of great interest to those who make hurdy-gurdies (for
themselves or for others), but of very little interest to everyone else.
Personally, I have always been happy to receive all list messages:
hopefully the subject line is representative of the discussion and I can
choose to read it or just delete it.
However... I have been told that some list members, especially those
*not* in North America, must pay for internet access by the minute and
therefore might not want to download every list posting only to end up
deleting many of them. A respected list member has suggested to me that
topics of limited interest might be discussed "off-list", adding all
interested parties' addresses to the "To:" heading. This way, those on
the list who aren't interested won't have to download and sort through
these "esoteric" discussions.
In my opinion, this idea actually excludes people, and this concession to
those who must pay "by the message" counteracts the purpose of this email
list. However, I am willing to make an effort to follow this suggestion
if there are many who agree.
I suspect that most members would rather keep involved in all the
discussions (or at least retain the option of reading or deleting), but I
was hoping to get a sense of how people feel about it, somehow *without*
generating a great number of replies, which would in effect cause just the
problem I'm describing. Perhaps the first step is to wait to hear from
Alden about it before starting a long exchange - I believe his opinion as
the listmaster carries the greatest weight.
Apologies if this subject doesn't interest anyone!
~ Matt
