[neact] Some reminders about list serves

Dear members of the NEACT email list:
            The recent flurry of emails in response to a single job posting
raises the topic of LIST SERVE ETIQUETTE.  If I may offer some education,
and request your help:
 
1. Any message that you send to the list goes to every person on the
list?period. 
2. When you hit ³Reply² to any message that has been posted to the list,
your reply goes to every person on the list.  This is an easy mistake?I have
done it more times than I care to think about?but each time we do it we
cause Inbox pollution for several hundred people, which is not nice.  So
PLEASE before you press ³Send,² LOOK up at the ³To:² box and be sure the
message will go where you want?to the entire list membership [the default],
or to the individual.
3. If you wish to reply so that the whole list membership reads your
response, then indeed all you need do is press ³Reply.²  This is perfectly
proper for, e.g.  responding to someone¹s question about lab safety.
Everyone should probably see your answer, so they can learn from the
discussion, and/or contribute to it.
4. If you wish to reply ³off-list,² which would be proper for individual
response or inquiry to a posting such as a job opening, you need to send an
individual email to that person, by copying his/her email address into a new
email message.  
 
DIGEST MODE:
            There has been some irritation expressed in response to that
flurry of responses.  If multiple messages in a day bother you, then
remember you can set your subscription to the ³Digest² mode.  On the NEACT
website [www.neact.org], you can go to ³Publications/Communications²>²List
Service² and click on the web interface link there
[http://www.freelists.org/list/neact].  On that page you can type your email
address in the box, then go to ³Choose an action.²  Click on the little
triangle, scroll down the ³drop-down² menu until you come to ³Turn Digest
mode on.²  Click ³Go² and your subscription will be modified so that you get
one email per day with all the postings for that day.  This compresses the
day¹s traffic to de-clutter your Inbox, but it is not convenient if you want
to participate in any discussion[s].   [Note: you can turn Digest mode off
easily in the same place as  you turned it on.]
 
            Thank you very much for your cooperation, and for your patience.
Please let me know of any questions or problems.
            Please do use the NEACT list; it exists to help you help each
other.

Steve Stepenuck, list moderator

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