There's a couple of very large replies to digests which the list manager
software has held back for breaching the per-message size limit on this
list (which is 40k). This is because the last digest to go out included
the previous (untrimmed) digest replies, and the latest replies are also
untrimmed. To put this in context, most normal emails to the list are
around 5k in size; the emails being held back are over 150k each, and
the actual content if sent trimmed would be well under 5k.
Please, when replying to digests, trim *everything* that is not relevant
to your reply, otherwise the digests will keep growing ad-infinitum. As
a guide, if you've quoted more than two or three times what you've
actually typed in the reply yourself, you've probably quoted too much.
Leaving stuff below your signature does not count as trimming it, it
should be deleted. (This is good practice, whether it's a digest you're
replying to or not, but its the digest replies that are currently
causing a problem.)
Alternatively, subscribe to the non-digest version of the list (the
majority of posters here do not take the digest version), as this is
easier to manage. It's also very easy to miss something important in a
digest (like the change of meeting venue sent during the week).
I'm sorry if I'm starting to sound harsh, particularly as those having
teething troubles with this are new subscribers with (I assume) little
list experience, but if unchecked this gets silly very quickly. If 5
people post a 20k post each, that makes a 100k digest. If two people
reply to the digest without trimming it, that's 200k to add to the next
digest. If the next digest gets quoted by a couple of people, that's
400k to add to the next one. And so on, and so on. (This last week we
started with 4 or 5 replies to the digest.) The list settings do their
best to prevent it actually scaling that fast - eg by holding back
messages over 40k in size - but the principle still holds.
The digest option is there as a convenience, it should *not* be the
default choice and most people get on better with the normal list. I do
have the option of removing the digest option entirely but I don't
intend to take it, but equally as list admin I can't just "do nothing".
If anyone is currently receiving the digest and wishes to change, but
does not know how (I believe instructions should have been sent out with
the welcome message on joining the list, or you can follow the link at
the bottom of any email to this list and use the option at the bottom of
the info page) drop me an email (off-list) and I'll change the settings
for you.
Apologies if sending this has upset/offended anyone. I *really* do not
want to put people off posting.
--
Mark Rogers
More Solutions Ltd :: 0845 45 89 555
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