ART100@PSUVM.BITNET ("Andy Tefft 862-6728", 814) (11/02/88)
Yet another opinion from someone without a gs... Yes, I'm tired of getting mainly mail on the gs since I don't have one and don't (gasp!) intend to get one. Since I get this list via the bitnet redistribution as mail, it's no difficult task to look at the subject: headers and kill the ones which are obviously gs oriented. Unfortunately, this causes 2 problems: 1) After a number of generations of replies, the header doesn't always reflect the contents of the mail; 2) Sometimes the header indicates it's a GS comment but there are things i'm interested in in the body anyway! It seems a logical choice at first to split this group into gs and non-gs, since most of the gs questions have nothing whatsoever to do with older apples. The problem is that some of them DO. If you split the list, either you're going to have people cross-posting to both groups or you're going to have people on either side possibly missing out or reading both groups anyway. My suggestion is NOT to split the list, but for posters to specifically state in the subject header to whom the article might be directed - gs owners, older // owners, or both. This includes updating the subject header for replies if the subject starts to deviate. If everyone tries to do this, it is easy for us to separate the uninteresting mail from the useful stuff, according to the personal preference of the reader (as opposed to the personal preference of the poster or anyone else). Andy
cuthbert@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Robert Cuthbertson) (11/05/88)
In article <8811022106.aa03555@SMOKE.BRL.MIL> Andy Tefft writes: > >My suggestion is NOT to split the list, but for posters to specifically >state in the subject header to whom the article might be directed - >gs owners, older // owners, or both. This includes updating the >subject header for replies if the subject starts to deviate. If everyone >tries to do this, it is easy for us to separate the uninteresting >mail from the useful stuff, according to the personal preference of >the reader (as opposed to the personal preference of the poster or >anyone else). > >Andy This seems to be the best available option. It will save Brint the task of maintaining two internet mailing lists, and if everybody will cooperate, it will allow GS users and //+ec users to each read items of interest, without having to hand-sift through articles from/for the 'other' group. However...There is a really big 'if' in that last idea. WE NEED for people to cooperate! We also need to ALL agree on a standard. How about this: if the article is for GS users ONLY, have "GS" appear somewhere in the subject line. If it is for the older apple, have some other unique string appear, (maybe "//"?) and if it is a general 'Apple' posting, have neither of the identifiers in the subject line. This will allow the easy use of KILL files for everyone. I don't mean to say that this is the best way to do things, it is just an idea, but it does seem to be the most reasonable to all involved. Anyone? --Rob Cuthbertson +----- -----+ ! cuthbert@tramp.colorado.edu <---OR---> ..!{ncar.nbires}!tramp!cuthbert ! ! "Fb ubj pbzr 'Nffubyr' vfa'g va \/\/\/ guvf fcryy-purpxre'f qvpgvbanel?" ! +----- \/\/ -----+