-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- - -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tim May writes:

[...] has asked that we reply in e-mail to him, to avoid "cluttering the list more than I already have...," but the logic of this is faulty. The few lines of a response such as this one, or even of several such responses, are as nothing compared to dozens or more people sifting their own archives so they can each independently send [...] what they find. Hence my public reply.

I'd like to amplify this point, which is missed all too often on Usenet and mailing lists. Replies to requests for fairly widely-known factual information should be directed to the forum (i.e. the mailing list, newsgroup, or what have you). This practice not only prevents duplication of effort by the repliers, as Tim mentioned, but also prevents duplication of effort by others interested in the same answer. I try to make a point of replying to the whole list when someone asks for a list of remailers, mail-news gateways, etc. for precisely this reason. As I see it the basic principle rests on a simple comparison of the number of replies desired with the likely number of replies. If you anticipate getting many more replies than you want, you should ask for replies to the entire forum in which you place the query. Otherwise, seek private email. This is certainly not a perfect heuristic, but it's an excellent starting point IMHO. For example, a few months back I wanted to give away an old AM/FM/ shortwave radio, so I posted to a local newsgroup. I asked for initial public replies, so that I wouldn't be flooded with mail before I had the chance to announce that a recipient had been selected (first-come first-served). After the initial expression of interest, further correspondence continued in private. [...]

In my opinion, having personal access to past posts is several orders of magnitude more important than having MIDI-MIME JPEG-II TeX players [...]

It takes more disk space from one's personal quota, though (for those who suffer under such restrictions). :[ Let's not head down this road again.... "You've gotta keep `em separated !" -Offspring -L. Futplex McCarthy; PGP key by finger or server "The objective is for us to get those conversations whether they're by an alligator clip or ones and zeroes. Wherever they are, whatever they are, I need them." -FBI Dir. Freeh - -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.1 iQCVAwUBLwz5Mmf7YYibNzjpAQEooAQAlj93pc1CuSMTdApaRTg06ONgPkeyqUfY KhdcqzDmEnuWBDdwgO+YtHOHFsOGlPhoFhOijajJzTh97G1TBYn5plBECaZXs1RJ Au9g1uqEAKtFLFYB/jKDaDA/Xzf13irCKb846IAhttKICwQJ8HfLfgPWLHMa1/f1 ldkXYq7DfY8= =7KNc - -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- - --- [This message has been signed by an auto-signing service. A valid signature means only that it has been received at the address corresponding to the signature and forwarded.] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Gratis auto-signing service iQBFAwUBLwz6PCoZzwIn1bdtAQGpbwGAqY6tLm7TAN2TluCpD1WOTsR6kMgI2R27 CMExwcLopwSapiPNO0u/IHnzHUq5ij2C =TyKQ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----