From: "Barrett/Burns" <2thman@olympus.net>
To: "Lancair List" <lancair.list@olsusa.com>
Subject: suggestion on format
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 09:17:50 -0800
Message-ID: <01be73be$bf744080$LocalHost@2thman>
Mime-Version: 1.0

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Hi Marv,

thanks for the great forum you provide.  Even though we sometimes get into
the chat "ter" mode, the amount of information passed in a timely fashion is
phenomenol. It wouldn't be possible without your work and dedication.

Therefore, this comment is not to be taken in the context of "this is how I
would do it".  In fact, I wouldn't even know how to do it!

With that said, I notice that in the larger LML issues, it's kind of
difficult to sift through a long list of messages to find the one I'm
interested in.  My suggestion is that attaching links (is this the correct
term?) to the listing at the top of each issue to the individual messages
referenced, might improve readability & utility.  In other words, if Joe
Blow writes a message on "high altitude aerobatics",  and this is the eighth
message out of 13 in a particular issue, the reader could point the mouse to
the topic thread at the beginning of your issue that reads "high altitude
aerobatics" and double click.  The computer cursor would jump to the
beginning of Joe Blow's message.

If this sounds good to you and is not difficult to accomplish, then I'll
look forward to seeing it.  If, on either count, you don't like it, by all
means trash it immediately and don't waste any time on it.

Regards,
John Barrett

ps Marv, as far as I'm concerned, you don't even need to post this.  If it's
not going anywhere, let's just not garbage the system with it.


[Hi John,

This is an interesting suggestion, but one that I'm afraid I can't
implement with the present listserver software.  If you think back to the
list posting guidelines, there's an item in there about posting in
"plain text" mode only.  This is a tip of the hat to our subscribers
whose email programs don't support HTML coding.  What you are suggesting
is embedding hypertext links into the table of contents... it would be 
nice to be able to do so, but I'm afraid it can't be done.  The listserver
software prepares the daily digests and sends them out automatically
each night shortly after midnight.  I don't have access to the code
which supports this function, and frankly, even if I did, I probably wouldn't
know what to do with it anyway <g>.  It is a great idea, though, and
one that could be implemented were the LML to graduate from a hobby/labor
of love into a full blown business, except for the fact that it wouldn't do
any good for our text-mail limited subscribers.  I must consider the
lowest possible denominator re: the subscriber base and I'm afraid that 
is it.  (BTW, I use a text mail program myself, as I prefer to keep
email with email and HTML (web-pages) with web pages.)

I do appreciate your comments, however, and hope that you will keep
providing suggestions regarding the betterment of the LML.  Needless to
say, I will do anything within my power to improve the LML for everyone's
benefit.  In the meantime... Keep those posts coming!!

   <Marv>]