The one tip that I always repeat to people new to mailing lists is to set up a filter that looks for your own name in an email. This, coupled with the filters to move mails to a different folder that Rob mentions, means you are less likely to miss an important mail.
For example, I have a filter that will ensure any mail with my name in it will hit my inbox regardless of all other filters I use. This means that someone can write "I think Ross mentioned something about this a few months back" or "I wonder if Ross has any info on that" and I'll have it appear front and centre while all the other stuff goes into a big pile to deal with as and when. If you assume everyone does the same then you can get peoples attention simply by saying their name. For example, by mentioning Rob in the previous paragraph I not only acknowledge Rob's excellent mail but I also ensure he sees this tip so that he might include it next time he sends out tips like these. Of course this approach can be extended to ensure you see mails with specific keywords that you are interested in. Hope this helps. Ross On 28 November 2012 14:45, Rob Weir <[email protected]> wrote: > If this is the first time you've volunteered with OpenOffice then you > may be new to mailing lists. This is very old technology, but it > works everywhere. > > A mailing list is a way for each of us to send an email to everyone > else interested in OpenOffice Marketing. There are over 100 people > subscribed to this mailing list. Some of them (like me) are active. > Some are just listening ("lurkers" we call them). > > You communicate with the mailing list by sending emails. Whenever you > send an email to the [email protected] the server > forwards that email to all 100+ subscribers to the list. You then, > as a subscriber, receive a copy of every note that every other list > subscriber sends. But the email will look like it comes from the > individual. Depending on your email client, you might need to look > closely to see that it came from the list. > > The other way you work with the mailing list is to send commands to > the server. This is done via special addresses. You've already used > one to subscribe to the list: > [email protected]. Another one is the > unsubscribe command: [email protected]. > Subscribing and unsubscribing is "self-service". I can't easily do > this for you. > > So how do we keep our sanity on a list, and deal with the traffic? > > A suggestion: Learn how to use "filters" or "rules" in your email > client. I, for example, use GMail and have defined a rule that > automatically takes all emails from this list and puts them into a > special folder, bypassing the inbox view altogether. This allows me > to read the emails on my schedule, when I want. > > Another approach is to subscribe to this list from a 2nd email > address. Some of us use one email account for our normal business and > another one only for our OpenOffice volunteer work. I do this as > well. That way my business inbox stays clear. > > I can guarantee that without some approach to managing the incoming > emails from this list, you will go crazy. > > > Regards, > > -Rob > -- Ross Gardler (@rgardler) Programme Leader (Open Development) OpenDirective http://opendirective.com
