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***** To All: ***** I would like to request that ANOTHER method-- perhaps a "PARALLEL LISTSERV" (perhaps call it "PD Digest-II") -- be established to carry all those pages upon pages of ENCODED items that too often (including in this past issue) FILL UP the PD Digest! What a NUISANCE it is to have to scroll past pages & pages & yet more pages of CODE, just to see if there's any useful humanly READABLE material posted! What a drag it is (in my opinion) on the value of the PD Digest if those numerous encoded pages are (1) UNREADABLE and, worse yet, (2) just encoded PICTURES of people rather than, at least, codes that, to whomever can decode the data, contain information of SUBSTANCE regarding PD. Having to scroll past all that encoded junk is worse than having to go through junkmail to get to the worthwhile stuff. For a long time, the debate has raged in the PD Digest as to whether or not the list should be split. I didn't follow it too closely, but I gathered that the proposals mainly had to do with types of topics covered. Well, I don't mind the PD Digest as it currently is structured EXCEPT for all the nuisancey ENCODED stuff. Therefore, I propose that one of the following be done: (A) Please do NOT transmit encoded stuff in the PD Digest! If you feel that you must transmit encoded material, send it by E-MAIL to ONLY those individuals who wish to receive it. If you SUSPECT (without knowing for certain) that everyone on the list would wish to receive it, and you don't want to get bogged down in individually transmitting your encoded data to 500-1000 e-mail addresses, then why not ASK -- HERE IN THE PD DIGEST -- that those who might WISH to receive your data e-mail YOU with their request for that data? This way, you'll help streamline the PD Digest and also know that your data will go to those persons who DO want it. (B) Whomever is in charge of compiling all the submissions to the PD Digest: Can you please perhaps see to it that all encoded items are placed AT THE END? (If need be, can you set up the compiling-software to do that atutomatically?); (C) If neither of the above 2 proposals is acceptable, then I propose that all submitters please PREFACE their encoded submissions with the following items: [1] some GUIDELINES on how to decode that particular encoded transmission, and [b] a website-address to which we can go in order to DOWNLOAD the specific DECODING SOFTWARE for the type of encoding that you have used. Thanks. -- SJS 10/27/97 *************************************************************************