List Management - RESPONSE

Please read the entire message below from the list admin (who is trying very hard not to come out of his skin and choke someone)... You wrote... suggest What color is the sky in your world? it. Thanks, your sentiments are much appreciated. But shouldn't that last phrase be "to put up with it" rather than "to put into it"? ;) As a side comment - It's rather amusing that some people have told me I do too much, others are now telling me I do too little. Hummm Yes it has been a live topic. If you will recall, *I* am the one that started the conversation about it with a request for comments. Didn't see anything? Ummm maybe you should go back and find the two possible solutions that I posted. I also did at least one followup comment I believe. I'm so sorry my timetable for making a decision about this hasn't met with your approval. You said "on the steps involved for the proposed volunteers"? You OBVIOUSLY have missed some of the things I posted on this topic earlier - I didn't list steps for the "proposed volunteers" because volunteers are not in my game plan at this time. More on this below... and in a separate post.... Really. Wow, that's funny, because I read the mail on this list every night. I may occasionally go a day or two without it, but that's not very common. Moreover, I, (probably like most on the list), routinely skip and delete (without reading) posts that don't appear to be about anything that interests me, with regards to my own collection or to list issues. Perhaps a thread or two has gone by that had a subject line that didn't cause me to read it when in fact it contained discussion that I should have watched. I must say I am very offended by the suggestion that I only poke my head in here once or twice a month and don't know whats going on. For example - take a look at the subject of this thread "Big African Grifters". Hummm ya think maybe that might be something I wouldn't care to read? Why did I finally see this convo? Because someone had the forsight to put "list management" at the front of the subject. I submit that most people skim the list the same way I do, watching the subject lines for something interesting. Hummm perhaps I need to turn into a list-nazi and delete posts which don't contain content appropriate for the heading? (thats sarcasm, not something I would do) As far as a solution to the SPAM issue, I read all the reponses on the list for a few weeks till it seemed to die down (maybe it continued under a subject heading that didn't catch my eye). For those who think I have not pursued the issue, my apologies for not CC'ing you on the many and varied private discussions I have been having with several list members on what to do about this exact topic (I HOPE you see blistering sarcasm coming through here). Mostly, I believe the SPAM issue is much ado about nothing. Many people on the list have posted AND sent me private email saying "It's your list, you make the rules, do what you want". While that may be true, I have always tried very hard to solicit input from listmembers anyway. Several of the loudest complainers failed to realize that the spam was rarely coming to having someone moderate the list: I have stated very clearly my somewhat strong opposition to putting this list into moderated mode. That goes for ME moderating it, or for delegating it to someone else. I also stated that if moderating it becomes the only real solution, *I* would do it (yes, I have the time, believe it or not). That is why I didn't answer the people who offered to moderate the list (because I felt I had already responded to them publicly). As to not answering direct emails about the list? It is true, I do get a lot of email every day, and I don't always choose to repond to every one of them. You can bet that if someone emails me about list maintenance, it is taken care of in a timely fashion. Yes, there have been one or two requests for a change in mailing address that I didn't get to quickly. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of so much email, no matter how much spare time I have these days. However, I think that many of the people who just posted here thanking me for the job I do would beg to differ with you on that point. I have listened to the discussion about SPAM, I have been talking to others on the list privately about it, and I will announce my intended solution as soon as I am damn well ready to commit to something. Yes, I have a proposed solution, it does NOT involve moderating the list, and as soon as I am satisfied that it is the best route to go, I will post it on the list for final discussion in case some people vehemently disagree with it. Jay