[Bru-list] Down with digests!

[Vince M Hudd]

[For those who don't understand what a 'digest' is in the context of a
mailing list - I'll explain towards the end of this message]

In a particularly annoying example of absent mindedness, I've made a bit of
a booboo on this mailing list - twice! And what makes it worse is that it's
the same mistake in both cases.

Normally, when I set up a mailing list, I disable the option to subscribe to
receive messages in digest format.

I do this because I don't like them. As a reader of posts to a mailing list,
it's annoying to lose threading because while some people might reply to
messages in the "Sensibly named thread" er thread, others might reply to the
same message in the "Threading? What threading - this is a digest" thread.

Granted, there are generally only a small number of posts to this particular
list - so threading surely doesn't matter that much.

However, the counter argument is that there are generally only a small
number of posts to this particular list - so why do you want to receive
messages in digest format?

Chris: Case in point about the problem with digests; at Wednesday's meeting,
you comment that you'd only seen my message that lunchtime, and would
otherwise have forgotten. I sent that message Monday. I saw your reply
yesterday, and the subject line explains why you almost didn't see it and
almost missed the meeting: "Re: [Bru-list] Bru-list Digest, Vol 37, Issue 1"

Booboo the first: When I first set up this list, however, I somehow
neglected to disable the option, and some people opted for it. (Grrr!)

The subject came up, settings were changed, and my intention was to then
disable the option to receive digests.

Booboo the second: I forgot to actually make that change.

And since then, even more people have opted to receive the blasted things.
(Grrr! A pox on them!)

I therefore want to disable the option, as I should have done in the first
place, and when the matter came up before. However, I don't want to just
make the change without (a) warning people or (b) giving them the chance to
argue and, therefore, (c) giving them time to make the change themselves.

So: change - or perhaps discuss, and try to convince me I'm wrong to dislike
digests (hint: you'll fail! :P )

I'll leave it a few weeks (say, beginning of February) before I do anything,
one way or the other.

There are two ways you can change your digest setting.

Method 1: Via the web interface
-------------------------------

Firstly, pop along to the mailing list page:

http://riscository.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/bru-list_riscository.co.uk

Scroll down to where it says "Bru-list Subscribers" and enter your
subscribed email address in the box next to the button marked "Unsubscribe
or edit options" - then click that button.

On the next page, enter your password for the list in the Password box, and
click "Log in".

(Your password is one you will either have chosen yourself when first
subscribing or, if you didn't, will have been generated for you. Each month,
you are sent an email reminding you of your password for this list, and any
other lists hosted by RISCOSitory to which you subscribe.)

On the next page, scroll down to "Your Bru-list Subscription Options"

The second option is "Set Digest Mode". Change it from "On" to "Off".

Then scroll to the very bottom and click "Submit My Changes"

Finally, "Log out" (at the top, near the right).

Method 2: By email
------------------

Send an email to bru-list-request at riscository.co.uk from your subscribed
address.

The body of your message needs two lines:

set authenticate password
set digest off

(Obviously, you must replace the word password with your password!)

Shortly afterwards, you should receive an email confirming that your digest
option has been set.

So, what are these digest things, then?
---------------------------------------

A digest, in the context of a mailing list, is a single email containing a
number of messages that were posted to the mailing list.

Some mailing lists provide this option so that subscribers can receive
messages in this format, rather than receive one email for each message
posted to the list - thus reducing the amount of actual email they receive.

Some news/mail clients that handle mailing lists properly provide an option
to "split" digests into individual messages - on RISC OS, Pluto can do this.
If this is done, when a subscriber replies, their messages have the correct
subject line, instead of the generic digest subject line, so their messages
can be sorted into rudimentary threads by other subscribers, if their own
clients thread by subject line, and not references. If, OTOH, people are
threading using references, even when digest users are using decent email
software, they can still break threading for other users.

-- 
Vince M Hudd, Soft Rock Software - http://www.softrock.co.uk

RISC OS Awards - http://www.riscosawards.co.uk
Voting open until 15th January, 2014!