Hi all

        On Sun, 14 Nov 1999, janet patterson wrote:

> ...
> i have never understood
> why some people seem so reluctant to use the delete key
> in my humble opinion, that is just a fact of e-mailing list life
> ...

        Well,  janet, you *are* quite right,  and it has been that way
     on literally every mailing list I have ever joined --  this  list
     is not new or special in this and other regards in any way. :-/

        But,  as  another  possibility, the *digest* subscribers don't
     have a choice.  Do I remember you or someone saying that the  di-
     gest  list  contains  one-third+  of the subscriber base?  They/I
     don't have a chance to delete -- they get everything whether they
     want it or not.

        The  other  possibility  is  that many people don't change the
     "Subject: " header when they change the direction of their reply.
     Some  folks  (admittedly,  probably very few), may feel that they
     might miss something by not reading a post because the  "Subject:
     " may actually have little to do with the message content.

        I  really  *do* like what you tried to do with the "Subject: "
     titles/keywords.  If the list had been  full  of  'Net-nerds  and
     -junkies,  I think they would have proven to be a valuable asset.
     But, I think most of the people here are just plain folks  trying
     to find what they hope will be some useful information on a prob-
     lem that they or a loved-one has.

        As you certainly know, *I* don't mind the off-topic  posts  --
     heck,  I  post many myself.  And, if I was on the regular list, I
     do know how and will use the delete key.  But, as a  digest  sub-
     scriber,  I  just have to live with wading through the stuff, the
     entire text of an original message quoted in the reply, the occa-
     sional MIME and HTML, forgetting to change the subject when a re-
     ply changes topic, ... and I still manage to survive.

        Anyway, before I ramble off into a mini-novella, just remember
     that digest-folks don't have a choice.  And, I appreciate all you
     and our list-mom do. Thanks and take care ...

Bill--
  ...who never puts off until tomorrow what he can avoid altogether.
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