<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
A few days ago, the listowners conducted a private email survey with every
person who had made a post to our List since we began the experiment of
changing the default reply to the original poster instead of to the whole List.
Many thanks to everyone for your prompt and comprehensive responses to our
informal survey!
The overwhelming majority of those who replied were strongly in favor of the
change we made. The change has clearly resulted in a reduction in the volume
of our List (perhaps by 40-50%). However, almost everyone reported to us
that the bulk of the private replies they received were inappropriate for the
List. Therefore, it is a pretty safe assumption that the bulk of the
reduction in List posts does NOT imply a loss of quality of information.
This is great news for those who have complained to us in the past about
excessive volume and/or less-than-newsworthy posts.
A number of people said it was difficult to know whether the reply they
received was private, or from the List. That is easy! No matter how your
own personal mail software handles the "from" field (and they do differ), all
current posts from the list automatically have the following first line
inserted into it:
<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
and the following as the last line:
* Remember to change the reply destination if you want to reply to the List *
Several people reported that they are confused about the standards for which
replies should be sent to the List, and which should be private. Therefore,
we will cover them again:
1) *Most important*: the change in default reply does NOT FORCE you to
reply privately. On most mail software, if you hit the "reply" button, it
will simply address your reply to the original poster. You can easily
re-address it to the List, if you feel that is the most appropriate place for
your reply.
2) We ask you to judge for yourself where the reply should go. If you feel
it contains information of interest to others, not just the one person who
inspired your reply, then send it to the List. You are always welcome to
send one of the listowners an email for review if you are unsure ...just send
it to <[log in to unmask]>. Mike can post it for you after a review, in
a special manner making it appear as if the post was sent directly from
you to the List.
3) If you do send your reply to the List, at the beginning of your post,
please state the name and email address of the person you are replying to,
and quote just enough of their email (not all of it) to make the context of
your reply clear.
4) If you are the original poster, and you get private replies which you
feel have value to the whole List, please help us all out by sharing the
information you received. You may choose to summarize several such replies
into one post. You could quote the private reply, or paraphrase to get the
point across. If you get several great replies but don't have the time to
summarize them to the List, send them all to the listowners and we will do it
for you.
We will continue with the default option set to original poster for the time
being, and we will periodically review this policy to make sure the majority
of our members support it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to write to the listowners at
[log in to unmask] We know that this reply policy is not an
exact science! If we send a question to you about a posting, please
understand that we are trying to give guidance or obtain information, not jump
on you for making a minor mistake.
We recognize that it is impossible for our List to be all things to all
Celiacs. On one end of the spectrum, we get emails from subscribers who
would like our List to be more friendly and conversational, with more
expression of feelings, jokes, and warm thoughts even if they do not relate
to Celiac at all. On the other end, there are many who would like the
listowners to review every single post, and only let those through that break
new ground .. these people prefer that every new subscriber read the entire
archives before sending their own first post.
As Listowners, we have tried to strike a balance between these extremes. We
do insist that every post be about gluten intolerance, but we realize that it
is impractical for everyone to read all prior posts.... so we created the FAQ
(frequently asked questions) file and ask every new subscriber to read it
prior to making their first post.
We have received many warm compliments on the value of the List. It is
valuable because of our subscribers, and the countless hours of time they
spend helping each other out. Recently, a newly diagnosed Celiac asked about
how long he could expect it to take before seeing results from his new GF
diet. He received over 20 private replies within two days. This is
amazing!! We truly have strength in our numbers, and in the selfless and
caring attitude that our subscribers show towards each other.
Bill Elkus
Los Angeles
|
