Hi Daniel (and the list), thanks for sending me two identical copies of the same exact message by using your CC: field on your E-mail. I deleted one, I'll respond to this one.
(And if the above example doesn't exemplify the problem with the reply addresses the way they are set up now, I don't know what does). Pardon me if I don't send you a CC: of this message, Dan. > It's a silly as a top level web page that is almost 2 meg! The art professors teach us that less is more sometimes. So we can look at this site two ways. Provide less and have less faster, or provide more and wait for more. > Let's see, > running a 28.8 modem with a perfect Internet connection.... it takes about > 11 minutes to finish loading. I have a 28.8 modem (US Robotics 28.8 Sportster internal) and the whole SPORRS Home Page takes me less than two minutes to download, even if I empty my cache first. I am only a few miles away from my server computer, and when I test my phone lines on the US Robotics BBS Line Test, it indicates a poor (noisy phone line) or fair connection that is not capable of X2 (my other modem = X2 56K on my COM3 port only connects at 28.8 also). It's not your line or your modem. It's your Internet Provider's server and the amount of traffic on it that is slowing you down. Not to mention that many people still don't know that you can read and use all pages of the site long before all of the little 7K GIF thumbnails are through loading, and that some people just don't have the patience to wait for a download, regardless of the time length. Misunderstanding the limits as well as the benefits and the potential of the technology plays a large part in the dissatisfaction level of many Internet users. You can always wait a month for your next issue of CTC Board to come in the mail with three month old pictures and news in it. > If your on AOL, all bets are off :-) If you are on AOL, you never get part of your list mail anyway, because it always bounces back to me as undeliverable. AOL and JUNO are the two worst for not being able to deliver mail through their servers, and they both have unrealistically low limits on the amount of your mail that they will hold on their servers before it bounces back to the senders. > Maybe you should break up the page a bit I had considered it, but since many people indicate that they don't look at anything but the pictures on the Home Page, and that they didn't realize that the gray text at the top was links to other pages of the site, this indicates that most people wouldn't utilize additional pages, not to mention waiting for them to download. > and use less images per voting period. Lets see, we have 17 votes so far on about 100 images, so if I reduce the amount of images to say... ten, considering the fact that some of what was already voted on would also be removed in the process, then we won't have to worry about tallying any votes, because there won't be any. Brilliant idea. > 130 people on the list. I would expect if you received 13 votes (10%) you > would be doing very well. These statistics are very good for the percentage of list members using (posting to) the list, but inadequate for a feature which requires participation such as the SOTM. For example, if I only responded to 13 percent of all of the SPORRS list members personal E-mails when you have problems and difficulties and need assistance with some list or web matter or another, then you would have probably unsubscribed from SPORRS a long time ago. > It's just the way it is. I have run a voting from > my site which is hit over 550 times a day and the response was about 1%. Sounds like they didn't like the material as much on that site. We won't go into why here. > > Kind of makes a guy start thinking about subscription fees, you know it? > > I think your list would drop to one or two :-) Sounds great to me right about now! What would we really be missing on most days? > >In other works, it looks like I have to make you do something in order for > >you to do it, and to me, that is utter BS, and certainly no fun for me, and > >fun was the original purpose for this list. > > No offense, but you seem to take this much to seriously. On the contrary, I don't have time to ask for information that you should easily provide anyway. I will dump the list address file soon, and start a new one where your names are required for new subscription approval. I will send the final notice out first. If you wish to resubscribe at that point, you are welcome and new directions will be provided. From my personal conversations with list members, this is also bound to cause a situation where most of the current SPORRS members who are interested will resubscribe, and those who are not, won't bother. This is a closed subscription only mailing list, not a public Internet news group. I have the right to maintain current records, and if you don't agree, the I have every right to remove you from my list. You also have the right to know who is receiving your list mail when you do post. Since I don't have time to play games, I will run this list as I see fit. over 100 E-mails in my mailbox every day is serious, and requires time to manage, not any amount of offense. Effective immediately, everyone make sure your mailers are set to show your real names in the 'reply to' field on a mail reply if you wish to post to the list. Noncompliance will constitute removal of the offending addresses from this mailing list. There's no mystery here, and those of you that refuse to update your records will be removed as well. I only have time for fun with this list, not hours of administrative BS because you can't follow simple directions. This I AM serious about. How much longer do you really think I will keep playing games with people who refuse to follow directions when I have a delete button on my keyboard? On the other hand, if I wasn't serious at all, I would just let this list go to hell or do just the opposite and delete it. When it's on my server and it takes my time, you better believe there has to be some level of seriousness involved in running this fiasco. > It is fun. I enjoy reading the messages and getting tips. That's why it's here. > That does not mean I have to vote or even look at the page each month. You are not required to do anything as a SPORRS member except keep your address records current. You don't have to have web access to enjoy the SPORRS mailing list. And I don't have to provide you with anything that I feel is not worth my time to produce or maintain. > I did not join this list "to do anything". That goes without saying. Thanks for your input, Dan. Dave Cohen SPORRS List Owner and Webmaster -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects' -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/ -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved
