Request about Posting "Etiquette"

[Ian T Stirling]

Etiquette is probably the wrong word but recently when viewing the posts via the Nabble web-site (http://ibm-netrexx.215625.n3.nabble.com/) I noticed some odd instances where posts were showing up in completely the wrong threads.
 
I raised this with the nabble admins and here is the reply I got from them

I checked those posts and they were not sent from the Nabble interface. Those were emails sent to the mailing list as a reply to unrelated posts. So the user "started a new topic" by replying to another email from the list. Our system uses the "in-reply-to" header to thread messages, so this caused the confusion. For now, you can fix those threads by clicking on "More > Move post" (save the page with a blank field so that it becomes a new topic). I am not sure we can offer a better solution for this issue, since we have already tested threading by subject and the result was not good (people change the subject too often, even when they don't want to start new topics -- so the archive gets full of broken threads). Please let me know if you have suggestions, comments or concerns.

I have used the Move function to separate out the jumbled threads but could I please ask people who respond to the emails that get set out that if they wish to start a new thread they don't do it by replying to an existing email and just change the Subject line.

Mailman handles this OK but it makes it very confusing for the folks that follow the discussions on Nabble.

[Jason Martin]

Documentation of any software or system is usually always lacking or it is just not read at all.

In most cases, most users do not know what a piece of software can and will do.

The one suggestion I could make is that when a user suscribes to a list the first welcome email
should contain some links (or text) on how the workflow should go and some basic rules.

Even then, we all still get in a hurry and the software itself allows it.
 

On Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 6:13 PM, Ian T Stirling <[hidden email]> wrote:

Etiquette is probably the wrong word but recently when viewing the posts via
the Nabble web-site (http://ibm-netrexx.215625.n3.nabble.com/) I noticed
some odd instances where posts were showing up in completely the wrong
threads.

I raised this with the nabble admins and here is the reply I got from them

I checked those posts and they were not sent from the Nabble interface.
Those were emails sent to the mailing list as a reply to unrelated posts. So
the user "started a new topic" by replying to another email from the list.
Our system uses the "in-reply-to" header to thread messages, so this caused
the confusion. For now, you can fix those threads by clicking on "More >
Move post" (save the page with a blank field so that it becomes a new
topic). I am not sure we can offer a better solution for this issue, since
we have already tested threading by subject and the result was not good
(people change the subject too often, even when they don't want to start new
topics -- so the archive gets full of broken threads). Please let me know if
you have suggestions, comments or concerns.

I have used the Move function to separate out the jumbled threads but could
I please ask people who respond to the emails that get set out that if they
wish to start a new thread they don't do it by replying to an existing email
and just change the Subject line.

Mailman handles this OK but it makes it very confusing for the folks that
follow the discussions on Nabble.

--
View this message in context: http://ibm-netrexx.215625.n3.nabble.com/Request-about-Posting-Etiquette-tp4025229.html
Sent from the ibm-netrexx mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

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[Ian T Stirling]

On 05/07/2012 02:18, Jason Martin wrote:
> The one suggestion I could make is that when a user suscribes to a
> list the first welcome email
> should contain some links (or text) on how the workflow should go and
> some basic rules.

That's a good idea, I'll work on putting something into the "Welcome"
message

Ian
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[Aviatrexx]

As one who can barely keep up with the traffic on the professional
lists to which I subscribe, threading is crucial.

So by all means, compose and post a "subscriber netiquette" page, Ian.

But anyone with experience hosting Internet listservers will tell you
that it won't do a damn bit of good.  Best case scenario is that half
of the subscribers will read it.  Half of the ones that read it will
understand it.  And barely half of _them_ will abide by it.  If you
get a 10% compliance, consider yourself blessed.  :-/

I have found that inserting

   New Subject: %(real_name)s@%(host_name)s

into the Mailman header and footer blocks surrounding every posting
reminds the subscriber that he should not simply "Reply" and change
the "Subject:" line to start a new topic.  (That, and almost weekly
haranguing.)

Long conversation threads naturally drift off-topic, but that's easy
to fix.  It's the lazy morons who think the easiest way to get the
listserver's address in the 'To:' field is to "Reply" to some random
posting and change the subject.  That, and brain-dead "smart-phone"
email apps that were written by twelve-year-olds.

Can you tell this is one of my hot-buttons?

-Chip-

On 7/5/2012 7:38 AM Ian Stirling said:
> On 05/07/2012 02:18, Jason Martin wrote:
>> The one suggestion I could make is that when a user suscribes to a
>> list the first welcome email
>> should contain some links (or text) on how the workflow should go
>> and some basic rules.
>
> That's a good idea, I'll work on putting something into the "Welcome"
> message

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