Why don't people who are having trouble with a list ask the list owner for
help?
When the list bounces messages it sends the person who posted the bounced
posting a message that explains (in horrible convoluted jargon) what the
problem is. The list owner does not get copies of those messages, nor am I (the
list owner) generally notified that there was a bounce. If your messages are
getting bounced and you don’t know why, PLEASE WRITE TO ME. I will try to help
you identify the problem and find a solution.
In answer to the question “Why does this list bounce so many messages?”, here
are the usual reasons that messages are bounced:
- the return address is not EXACTLY the address of a subscriber (email
addresses that are so similar even a monkey would know they are the
same person are not EXACTLY the same and they are bounced)
- the message is in Base64 (the list archive and digest both choke
on Base64. I don’t know why, but it is the case)
- the message is not in plain text only, or has a header that says it
is in html and plain text only even if it actually is in plain text
only. (There are quite a few email tools that send “Rich Text” under
various circumstances even if set to “Plain text only”. For example,
some tools interpret “plain text” to mean “make new message plain
text; do something creative with replies”)
- postings may not have the subject line of the list digest (so if you
reply to the digest you must replace the subject line before posting;
which is a good idea anyway since it enables threaded readers to know
to what thread you are posting)
- attachments are banned, even cute attachments with animated pictures
of kittens or huge chunks of code
- messages that seem to the software to be list administrative (such as
messages with the subject line “remove”) are sent to the list owner
instead of being posted to the list.
I know, I know, this is a real nuisance. I should just move the list to an
easier to use environment. One where:
- every tool currently available or likely to be developed in the next
few years will work seamlessly
- interested people can post and reply easily
- there is no spam, no advertising, and no administrative list traffic
- there is no observable latency
- there is just the right amount of formatting; highlighting to
help you make your point but tasteless circus-poster like formatting
will be automagically deleted
- interesting threads are highlighted and the stuff nobody is interested
in (meaning, of course, that a specific reader doesn’t care) is
hidden from the reader who doesn’t care
- someone will silently pay all the bills and do all the administration
regardless of the costs or time required
- the list administrator will “just know” when you are having problems
and step in to solve them without being asked (or notified)
OK. So now you know at least part of my Christmas wish list. I’ll be looking
for gift-wrapped list software in a little under a month; can you develop it
that quickly?
(OH - and please can the list be XML-based so I can use my favorite database,
XSLT, and XQuery tools on it? But also be open to JSON? And accept messages in
SGML for the old-timers who still use it? And be compact for people who
participate at very low bandwidth or who still pay for list access on a
per-character basis? And automatically translate messages into what-ever
language the recipient wants to read without loss? Thank you.)
— Tommie
On Nov 29, 2013, at 12:35 PM, Costello, Roger L.
<costello(_at_)mitre(_dot_)org> wrote:
Michael Kay wrote:
That would have the advantage that O'Neil
could join the conversation. His attempts to
post to the list have been bouncing. I don't
know what it is about this list that's so choosy.
My posts to this list often bounce. I find that I cannot reply to any post,
as they always bounce. They bounce despite ensuring that the response is
plain text. To circumvent this problem I create a new message and copy text
from the post that I want to respond to.
/Roger
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