Hi, Stephan --
Stephan Matthiesen wrote:
Hi,
Am Mittwoch, 23. März 2005 13:17 schrieb Doug Thompson:
In truth, I suspect/hope that the senders are clever enough to (B)CC: the OP. My contention is that these repeats add nothing but noise to the list as there isn't any new information. If the OP is deluged with copies of the posts responding directly to the question, it is a result of not registering and they are in complete control of that step.
Given that a lot of queries come from people who seem not to have experience with mailing lists (and may have good reasons for not wanting to subscribe) I don't think that's a realistic expectation. It's also not realistic to expect everybody to see whether an OP is subscribed or not.
However, I agree that the current system is not satisfactory either.
The current system, unfortunately, is all we've been able to come up with in light of the limitations of the list. The list archives are chock full of endless discussions on how to solve the problem, as this seems to come up every six months or so. By far one of the best "work arounds", though not a total solution, is the auto-response sent to unsubscribed posters. Unless things have changed (and I doubt this is so), and you might not know this -- that autoresponse is NOT generated by the list manager. Enterprising individuals took it upon themselves to implement it -- I don't know who the original person was to set it up. Last I knew CPH was doing it? ( Hi, Con! ) :-)
Can I suggest the following (I don't know if this technically possible):
1. Make a list archive that is visible to everybody that has some kind of threaded view.
2. When somebody posts a question and is not subscribed, he gets an automatic reply (as it is now) with says the following
"Please note that you are not subscribed to the list and therefore may not receive all answers. You can see your post and all replies in the list archive under
http://url.to.the.archive/correct.thread
Please also check this URL for any replies."
(The URL should somehow be generated automatically to link exactly to the correct thread).
That way - nobody has to look out if the OP is subscribed or not when replying - nobody has to resend messages - the OP can be sure to have access to all replies.
And everybody is happy.
Can this be done?
Great idea -- but it isn't only a matter of *can* it be done, but also *will* it be done -- doubtful on both points.
As it stands now, and for the forseeable future, it's pretty much just up to the list members to decide how they want to handle unsubscribed posters. Some have set up some kind of filter to "flag" these messages so they know to cc. Other's don't know how, or it's difficult for them with the software they're using. And some have just put their foot down and flatly stated that if they won't make the effort to subscribe to the list, why should I waste my time cc'ing them?
It would certainly be nice if these things could be, or more approriately WOULD be, handled internally, but alas, that's not going to happen.
It has always been a disappointment to me that of all the OOo resources, the least appreciated and nurtured are the time and dedication of the project "customer service department".
Tam
--------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
