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hi all At 08:30 1999/07/06 -0700, bob wrote to me: >> you need to send either a NOMAIL or a SIGNOFF command > >I would advise you *not* to tell them to use the Nomail command. If >they want to get off the List, all that does is shield them from the >mail. The server keeps them on the List and clutters itself. The >"signoff" command is more appropriate. >Best, > >Bob i agree with you bob, if in fact permanent stoppage of the incoming mail is what is being requested. i normally send that message out with another phrase included i.e. "you can stop the incoming mail either temporarily or permanently" but that particular message jumped ship earlier than expected [i hadn't even meant to send it to the list, just to the listmember] your message comes at just the right time for me to let you listmembers in behind the scenes it's an interesting adventure being acting list mom in my short tenure, i have seen steady traffic of people joining and leaving and changing subscription options it appears that only a few need assistance to some degree a lot of those people contact me directly; their pleas are not seen by the list membership now that the idling list mom is truly idling [on her way to quebec and out of e-mail reach] [even though she'll read this later maybe in her mail 'catchup'] i have to tell you all this job is something else since 99/06/30 i have handled/written/replied to 400 messages about list error messages, subscriptions, e-mail troubles, etc etc and that's only the tip of the iceberg [AND that's not even counting ms mallut's unique quandary!] there have been 7 official and automatic 'signoffs' and 11 official and automatic 'subscribes' all un-dealt-with by me only the listserv [although i subsequently send out the official 'welcome' message to the new members, which process could be automated by listserv] barb patterson has been doing this work since 1993 while still maintaining her full time job at mcmaster [admittedly, when the membership was smaller, the work was less] if there is anything we can do to make things simpler and more streamlined, we gotta do it imho e.g. one there is an existing 'general user's guide' written by listserv for both beginning users and advanced users which we haven't really taken advantage of yet it's a large text file [100k] although by mega-giga-byte-hard-drive sizes these days that's a drop in the digital bucket it could easily be split into more manageable sections there's an option for us to keep files on hand at the listserv [separate from the automatic archiving process] which i will look into this option would mean that we could request say the file 'advanced user's guide to listserv' or the file 'net etiquette for mailing lists' or the file 'emoticons and acronyms in e-mail' by e-mail from the listserv whenever we want e.g. two there is a 'renew' option which we haven't taken advantage of and which would clear out the list 'clutter' which bob refers to listserv can send out a pre-configured membership renewal notice to the membership automatically every 6 or 12 months or whatever is specified to ask you individually to reply if you want your membership renewed e.g. three the listerv's archives are searchable by e-mail again and in 'english' this time! e.g. four there is a 'topics' option which can essentially create 'sub-lists' of this big list so that members could set their subscriptions to receive say only 'medical abstracts' or 'pd news' or 'parkinsaw news' or.... sounds great, but it requires a lot of 'subject header' discipline on the part of the listmembers mailing lists are a powerful mode of communication learning how to use them effectively only makes us more powerful taking full advantage of these possibilities [and there are more !] will require a certain amount of nerd-ability from us all but it involves refining our basic e-mail skills something that would only enhance our online experience in general [oy - i sound like a computer sales geek!] part of the maintenance 'intensity' is due to newbies learning the net but only part all of us have been newbies at one time or other making mistakes is how we learn and should be cheered not decried we have been using one of the most miraculous [imho] means of communication this planet has ever seen to a limited degree i think it's time we learn to use it to its fullest potential whadda y'all think? janet PIEnet elf and acting list mom janet paterson 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset snail-mail: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada website: a new voice <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> e-mail: <[log in to unmask]>