Unsubscriptions, SmartList, name change???

Per Starback starback at Minsk.DoCS.UU.SE
Mon Sep 4 16:38:53 CEST 1995


Dave Rawson wrote:
> BTW, for those of you wanting to unsubscribe, the simple instructions are
> given as the FIRST LINE OF EVERY MESSAGE YOU GET. But then, since you're
> obviously not reading these messages, you won't read this either. So nyah,
> nyah, nyah! :)

Actually it's not.  To subscribe to the mailing list just means that
you get all messages sent to the list.  No additions.  No
subtractions.  No secret clues.  No extra text.  No subliminal
messages.  Fnord.  Not even any included collecting cards.  That's a
"reflector subscription" subscription, and that is the normal thing to
have.

Then there's the daily digests for you those who can't handle lots of
mail messages because they have to pay per message or whatever.
Those people are not normal.  Eh, let me rephrase that:  That is not the
normal way of subscribing to this list.  It seems like "digest people"
tend to forget that there is another way of subscription, but there
is.

As I have more control over the digests I've inserted a short note
"[Send unsubscription requests to <disney-comics-request at minsk.docs.uu.se>.]"
at the beginning of every digest, and that's what Dave referred to
(and later Don, in a message that came in when I was writing this mail).

Well, the situation is getting out of hand, and getting worse by the
minute.  The Net gets larger and larger as we speak (or rather, as I
write), and the percentage of people who know what they're doing there
is decreasing at the same time.  I understand that many of you get
irritated by all these administrative requests sent to the whole list,
or by private email to you who can do nothing about it.

But now there's light at the end of the tunnel.  I have at last taken
steps to use smarter mailing list software (probably SmartList), which
will look at mail sent to the list and only allow it to go through if
it doesn't look like an adminstrative command.  (Besides doing lots of
other things, like taking care of most correctly sent (un)subscription
requests which has become a rather time-consuming task by this time.)
I have to get some cooperation from the system administrator here, and
I'll have to test it and tweak it a little, but in due time ...

And another thing, that I'd appreciate input on:
It's evident that many people who subscribe to this mailing list think
it's something that it isn't.  They are mostly interested in Disney
animation, or Disney whatever, and ignore the later part of the name.
Disappointed they notice that we only talk about some dull comics
here, and quickly want to unsubscribe.  Even though it seems like the
name "disney-comics" is perfect to convey the notion that it's about
"Disney comics" I suspect it really isn't, and maybe we would benefit
from a new name without Disney in the name?

Actually I first started thinking about this some time ago when I read
a message on list-managers (which, as you might guess, is a mailing
list for list managers about general issues on list management) from a
person who administrated a mailing list on Barbie dolls and had to
change the name of the list to something without "barbie" in the name
as the producers of the dolls complained that they owned the name and
that people might think that they had anything to do with that list.

This is perhaps relevant for this list too.  Some mails I get to the
administrative address seem to be guided by the misconception that
they are sending mail to the Disney company and that this is some
service provided by them.  I'm not sure, but sometimes it has seemed
that way.  It is inconvenient to them, and to some extent to me, and
also Disney themselves might think this is a sad state of the affairs
(if they know about this mailing list at all).  Not that they have
complained, but sometimes it seems to me that it would be a good idea
to have a name like ducks-and-mice or something like that instead,
but I haven't convinced myself.  What do you all think?  (And what
might be a good name in that case?)
--       "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden.  email: starback at minsk.docs.uu.se
 "Life is but a gamble!  Let flipism chart your ramble!"



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