|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
Subject: TWL: How To Post To TWL
From: Alex Hirsekorn (alexh@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sun Dec 30 2001 - 19:18:11 EST
HiHo Listoids,
Please note that this post includes an updated URL for the instructions on
how to turn off HTML.
I get questions from time to time from folks who are having problems getting
their message posted to TWL. What follows is my attempt at instructions in
the fine art of posting to the list.
There are two ways to s*bscribe to TWL: The first is the Trawler World List
in which all posts are sent to your mailbox as soon as they are received by
the listserver. We sometimes call this the "full strength list". The second
is the Trawler World List Digest in which all posts are compiled and sent to
you on a once daily basis. The posting procedure is slightly different for
each of those so we'll cover the full strength list first.
All that is needed to reply to a post is to click on the reply icon (or hit
[control]r) and then manually change the address to
<trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX Please note that the listserve software is
set to direct replies to the original poster only and it is necessary to
change the "To" address to <trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX
Original (non-reply) posts also go to <trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX> but
you get to make up your own subject line.
Two things are necessary for netiquette reasons when posting to the list:
First, make sure that your software is set to send "Plain Text" (you'll find
it in the "Format" menu). Rich Text/HTML causes problems for many of our
subscribers.
Second, please limit quoting from previous posts to the bare minimum.
If you subscribe to the digest version of the list we ask that you follow a
slightly different procedure when replying to an existing thread. Using the
'ordinary' method of simply hitting "reply" makes it very easy to
inadvertently quote the entire daily digest contents in your post. Since the
TWL Digest can be as much as 2,000 lines of text that creates problems. Your
post may "bounce" and no one will see what you had to say or, if the digest
is shorter than about 1,100 lines that day, your post will go through and
you'll have a significant percentage of the membership p.o.'d at you.
As a digest subscriber the safest way to avoid this situation is to simply
avoid using the "reply" function in your e-mail program. If you
are responding to a previous post, prepare a new message to
trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX , Copy the subject line from the message you
are responding to, cut & paste a few pertinent lines from that message,
write up your response and send it.
Please keep in mind that you don't need to quote very much, just enough that
folks will know what you are responding to.
In the case of a non-reply post you would prepare a new message to
trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX with a subject line of your own choosing,
then write up your question and send it.
BTW: If trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX is more typing than you want to do,
consider setting up a "nickname" to save a few keystrokes. For example I've
assigned "twl" as the nickname in my email program and I've been using it so
long that I had completely forgotten what the real address is. Check the
instructions to your own email program to see how to do this; It should be
pretty straightforward.
OK, you've done all that and your post still didn't go through (Rare, but it
happens). Now what?
On an email based list such as TWL the sequence of events is as follows:
1. You send an email to trawler-world-list@XXX.XXX
2. When it is received a software program called "majordomo" processes it.
Your message is automatically checked against several parameters:
a. Length - Messages that are too long are rejected (50K is the limit, I
believe).
b. Plain Text - Messages containing formatting code such as HTML or
"Rich Text" are rejected. If this is the problem go to
http://www.expita.com/nomime.html for instructions on how to turn off HTML
in just about any email program (Including AOL 6.0).
c. Valid senders address - Only messages from subscribed email addresses
are accepted. If you've subscribed using your personal email address
majordomo won't recognize your business address. For information on how to
subscribe go to http://www.trawlerworld.com/c_lists.htm .
d. Attachments - Messages with attachments are rejected.
e. Key Words - Majordomo treats certain words as instructions rather
than as simple text. The words "subscribe", "unsubscribe", and "help" should
be avoided in the subject line and first paragraph of a post.
3. Majordomo then sends your message to the 400 or so subscribers on the
"full strength list" and also appends a copy to the TWL Digest
which is sent to about 550 subscribers on a once daily basis. A copy is also
appended to the active section of the TWL Archive
http://www.samurai.com/lists/trawler-world-list/.
If your message ever fails to appear in your in box (or your copy of the TWL
Digest) - DON'T RESEND! The system is very reliable and this sort of problem
has invariably been traceable to either the subscriber's ISP or to the
message itself. There are a few things that are pretty easy to check
yourself. First, make sure that the message doesn't contain any of the
"no-no's" outlined above. Second, go to
http://www.samurai.com/lists/trawler-world-list/ and see if your message has
appeared in the archive. If the message is in the archive that's a pretty
good indication that you've got a problem with your incoming mail.
[Sometimes, it's just running slow and waiting 15 or 20 minutes will solve
the problem].
If there is still a problem please feel free to drop me a line at
alexh@XXX.XXX
Happy posting!
Alex Hirsekorn
TWL Help Team
|