> > I don't quite understand why the first response is sent back to the list > > rather than just the OP though? > > Why do you send your responses (answers to questions) to the list instead of > to the OP? So that others can benefit, and so that it will be in the list > archives when someone else has the same question and searches the archives > before posting (like that ever happens! :-) > > I agree with Casey making his robot send to the list for this same reason. > Though it doesn't benefit those who didn't post the question (and answers > seldom do, since people who can answer questions normally don't need the > answers), they'll be in the archive when someone else comes and tries to > search for this same question (or a similar one). >
But then you really are talking about an automated FAQ generator and at that point it might be easier to put up a web site, throw all of the first responses there, and point them to a web site, provide the meta search on the site as a text box, but then we are back to all of the other solutions.... The fact that the messages are archived presents at least two problems, since they are merely just links to results on common search sources which take up a lot of space for someone and increases the download amount for *all posters* (caveat: who use SMTP) (13/14 kb a piece is not lite by any means), and may very quickly become outdated, then the amount of crud someone must wade through if they are one of the few that actually check the archive first has gone up greatly. I would use a Perl meta-search in a heart beat, but don't think that a mailing list is necessarily a forum for it, at least not at 13/14 kb a pop. How about a first response that has a single link in it that sends a user to the results of the meta-search on a page, or maybe even throwing that link in the footer of the message when it hits the list. http://danconia.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
