Hello Rob! You ask some good questions, and I'll answer them here for the benefit of any others who also wonder!
You wrote: > As a Newbie who just who joined any list for the first time I'm > still puzzled as to how the list actually works. Obviously there are > 2 parts to it as above...but, how does it work? Mailing lists like the silver-list are set up as e-mail *reflectors*. That means that each message sent to the list's e-mail address is reflected to all the e-mail addresses that are on the subscriber list. So, when you hit send, the list server software takes your incoming e-mail, and generates a copy for each subscriber and sends it out. The cool thing about it is that it is as *fast* as e-mail, yet unlike chat, the messages don't disappear before you can read them. There are a few niceties that can keep mailing lists operating smoothly, like restricting posting to subscribers only, blocking disruptive individuals, all the way up to "full moderation", where each post is approved by a human being before being sent out. Fortunately, we have been able to avoid the bottleneck of full moderation by virtue of everyone's continuing cooperation. The two "parts" of the silver-list you are talking about are the list and the digest version. Both carry the exact same info, it's just the digest is packaged differently. The digest server program is subscribed to the list. It takes the messages sent out to the list subscribers and compiles them into a single big message that contains all of them in one e-mail. When the digest is big enough, or at least once each day, it sends a copy of the digest out to all the subscribers who signed up for *that* version. The digest version allows people to keep silver-list messages from getting all jumbled up in their mailboxes with all the other e-mail they get. Quite a few folks prefer it. You may be able to accomplish the same thing if you examine the instructions for the program you're using to read your e-mail and find out about its mail filtering or sorting functions. There is a way with most programs to sort incoming mail by where it comes from and route it to a separate folder or mailbox. This is something to explore that will make your life easier. > When I said Newbie, I should have said 'virgin', as it is the first > time that I've actually participated in any forum. Never even > participated in "chats", although I've been a lurker in a number of > chat rooms but never felt the need to participate. I can understand that perfectly! <g> > Anyway, I'm fascinated & strangely comforted that there are so many > caring people out there who as a community of like-minded people > freely share their experiences and knowledge, or lack of without the > fear of being put down and accept all into the community of CS > explorers without question. I think they call it a virtuous cycle. Each get's value from the resources of the others, joins in with their own, and a feedback loop gets started that creates ... community! > For some of the members of this forum who have been on it for a > while, it must take a lot of patience & humility perhaps, when > newbies like myself come on and ask the same questions over & over > again...and there is always someone out there who is willing to lend > a helping hand. I have to thank the members of the list for this also. It will become easier when I finally establish an archive for the list. It's a technical issue *and* a time issue for me. Soon, I hope! > I'm enjoying this new experience immensely. > Please keep moderating Mike, your efforts are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the kind words, Rob. You're welcome here. Be well, Mike D. silver-list owner [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
