From: "Michael Polesky MPA" Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 14:10:41 -0700 Subject: ADMINISTRATIVE: For Digest Members!!!
Hello Digest Members!!
It is time to remind all of our new digest members of a couple of things to watch out for. We have lots of new members on both the digest and regular list so efficient posting is becoming a priority.
DIGEST REPLIES: Remember that when you reply automatically (using your reply button) to the digest you automatically quote the whole digest text in your message and your subject heading will have the digest number only and not refer to the specific post to which you are replying. So, occasionally we end up getting complete versions of the digest with only a bit of text at the end which has no explanation either in the text or subject heading as to what it refers. Thus, the best way to reply to the digest messages is to copy the salient portion of the post to which you are replying and placing that in a new message addressed to and taking the appropriate subject header from the original message and placing that in the subject line of your new message. This will mean some cutting and pasting, but it greatly eases things for all involved.
ATTACHMENTS: The digest is particularly sensitive to attachments and it is often difficult to ascertain to which message they may belong. If you have a file you would like everyone to have a chance to access it is best to put this on a web site somewhere and give us directions to its access. If you don’t have space yourself feel free to ask around someone usually does. In addition, forwarded messages usually create attachments so please DON’T forward any messages, recopy them into a new message and send it to in that form. It is much less likely to be rejected and far more likely to be viewed by those interested.
DIRECT REPLIES FROM THE DIGEST: Occasionally you will post replies you feel you should forward to the original author as well. In order to do that you will need to find the address of the original poster from the digest message headings and add their name or "cc" them in order for that message to go directly. Again, it is best to do this in a new message rather than including the whole digest in reply or forwarding the reply as an attachment.
So, try to keep an eye on these things. If you forget, a member of harp-l-workers or myself may send you a reminder just to help keep things "clean and efficient" ;-). Meanwhile, keep having fun!
