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I've received a few private emails from folks who are afraid to post to the
list in case their email setup causes a "Posted for..." message to show up
at the top. I'd like to clear up some misconceptions about this and put
everyone's mind at ease about it.
For a very long time I simply reposted messages that were formatted in HTML
or had Vcards or other attachments on them, without any mention of the
reason for the resubmission on someone's behalf. I would then follow that
up with an email asking that the problem be rectified so subsequent
messages could be posted directly. Needless to say, this consumed quite a
bit of time so I thought that including the reason for the resubmission
right at the top of the message would get the point across to the original
submitter without all the extra steps. Sometime it worked, sometime it
didn't. Please understand, I'm not trying to embarrass anyone or cause any
hurt feelings with these re-postings, I'm just trying to keep the LML
running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Messages that include HTML (the language that lets browsers display
everything you see on a website) cause a couple problems when they're
passed through the listserver... it doesn't see the HTML tags as anything
other than more text with some special characters embedded. It then passes
along this message in both plain text and HTML formats. Some email
programs that automatically code up all outgoing messages as HTML also
embed some hidden characters that I am unable to process during the message
moderation process. Passing those messages along with the HTML removed
during moderation causes some people's email programs to display them as
completely blank messages... I still haven't figured out what that's all
about, I just know it happens. Anyway, there are pictures on the LML
website in the List Posting Guidelines that show the proper plain text
settings for both Outlook Express and Communicator, so if you've been using
one of those programs to send in your emails and seeing them reposted, the
solution to "dual-formatting" is as close as your web browser.
Attachments like Vcards or pictures also get decoded by the listserver and
if I allow them to be posted without resubmission, they will show up as a
very long message, the end of which consists of a bunch of garbage. (Been
there, done that, some of you may remember from the early LML days.)
Attachments just plain don't work when the list is moderated. And the
reason for moderation is to insure that you're not bombarded with spam or
messages you can't read. I think it's a fair tradeoff. (I reject at least
one post a day, sometimes more, for being spam.) I have another list which
is unmoderated for subscriber postings only, but its email address isn't as
public as that of the LML and the subscriber list is a small fraction of
the LML's. Consequently it receives no spam and we can pass photos around
with it... Vcards still make it gag, but they're not that important to any
of those subscribers, so their Vcards have all been removed.
Unfortunately, our size and visibility demand moderation, so that's what
we've got.
The easiest solution, BTW, and one that is working just fine with a few
people already, is if you can't figure out how to shut off your Vcard or
how to stop your email program from sending 'dual-formatted' (ie, HTML or
mime-encoded) messages, don't submit your posts directly to the LML.
Instead, send them to me at my private email address (marvkaye@olsusa.com)
with a two word note at the top that says "for LML" and I can redirect them
with hardly any effort at all. A redirected post shows up with the
original poster's email address in the "From" box (an important point for
getting replies to the right person), followed with "By way of Marv Kaye".
It is far easier to reformat a message that I receive personally than one
that I have to copy and reject from the LML, then reformat and repost on
someone's behalf. I realize that not everyone on the LML is a computer
geek like myself, and I don't have any problem at all with taking care of
your posts in this fashion if necessary.
I hope this has clarified some of what has been going on, and that those of
you who felt intimidated about communicating with the LML for fear of doing
something wrong will lay those fears to rest and jump into the deep end
with the rest of us <g>. I'm happy to help out in any way I can and hope
that we'll start hearing from some of you out there who might not have been
posting for the reasons above. Additionally, if you're not sure about the
List Posting Guidelines, please stop by the LML website and select the
"Guide" link under the "About LML" heading... it only takes a few minutes
to read through and should answer most, if not all, of your questions.
Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a prosperous and happy new
year, and to send along my warmest regards to each of you and your
families... and please keep those posts coming!!
<Marv>
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LML website: http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair
Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
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