The following questions are asked so frequently
lately that it's time to answer them in one place, one time. They
have been submitted by list subscribers.
QUESTION (VERSION
I): "Is there any way to view old messages and topics? Is
there any way to research information on already discussed topics? Or
is it only possible to view the issue currently being discussed? I
would think that if that is the case things would end up being
repeated a lot."
RESPONSE (VERSION I):
That is exactly the problem I'm attempting to avert
when I started this new list.
Most of us were unaware that Sailnet.com was posting all our
discussion list messages from its then-popular discussion group to its website-based archive,
where e-mail addresses were included and harvested by global spammers.
When my and others subscribers inboxes began filling with reams of unsolicited junk spam, I
investigated and discovered the common denominator, the source.
I spent one Saturday afternoon
during the winter backtracking to France a sender who was haunting
subscriber Dick King with spam, driving him to distraction. We managed to "arrêté"
that spammer, get him tossed off the French company's e-mail server --
only to then be attacked next from an address in China!
That was the last straw: I
decided to "build a better mousetrap" and offer it to the
C22 community as an alternative. This discussion group list is the result. It
adopts the best from other list formats while eliminating the worst. Dick and I then unsubscribed from the Sailnet list --
even though the damage was done and our e-mail addresses will remain
on the Sailnet website archive in perpetuity or until the company
and site fold. Now, that doesn't need to happen you you. I had
to change my e-mail address: You should never need to because
of this list.
The emigration from the Sailnet list to
this one soon
followed.
Sailnet was aware enough of the
potential for abuse with its archive to scrub message headers of the
primary writer's e-mail address (from) and it's own list address
(to) -- but every
e-mail address included in the body of the message
[in message headers the primary writer was responding to and
included in his response] was present and ripe for spam harvesting,
and there was a helluva crop available for the picking.
No, there is no archive for this
list and
never will be that I foresee.
Catalina Direct is apparently
aware of the spam exposure problem, which I presume is why nobody's
e-mail address is included on its
"Clubhouse Forums" site . . . unless a writer is uninitiated
enough to include it in the body of his or her own message. Early on with
my list, just for the fun of it I did a global search of one C22 list's archive for just the @
symbol, found and pulled off all those e-mail addresses, and invited
them to join our discussion group -- it was that easy!
The Catalina Direct "Clubhouse
Forums" format therefore presented a different handicap and posed
another dilemma: how subscribers can contact each another off-list
securely.
That's where my "application form" comes in, and why each
applicant is carefully screened by me before being provided a
subscription. The year their boat was built and its hull/sail number
should correspond or the applicant is contacted; yahoo, hotmail, msn,
and other freebie throw-away e-mail addresses are suspect without an
accompanying telephone number. (The telephone number is also useful if
I have problems with an e-mail address that require another means to
contact the owner. I've had to use the phone a few times already for bad
addresses or consistent bounced messages.) If I have any suspicions, I
pick up the phone and call the applicant (ka-ching goes my
out-of-pocket expense
cash register) -- which I've done many times times so far.
Once I'm convinced the applicant
is legitimate, they're subscribed. Once subscribed, they have access
to other subscribers' e-mail addresses and can contact them off-list.
I've had to reject only a small number of suspicious applicants so far (who've
refused to provide their phone number, etc.) -- but attempts
have been made to infiltrate the list. And I get a lot of
spam directed at the list address itself, but "The buck stops here"
and you never see it.
If you plan to take off for an
extended period and want to stop income list messages temporarily, just
unsubscribe
yourself. When
you return simply let
me know at my personal
e-mail address and I'll resubscribe you. You don't need to
apply all over again.
Sorry, but this list is a basic
service, no bells or buzzers.
Of course, there's always Sailnet's spam machine if you really need
an archive, and appreciate lots of e-mail coming at you!
QUESTION (VERSION II): "Is there any way that I can be sent a weekly
(or daily) digest of the topic
threads from the discussions? I am presently receiving a lot of
e-mails from the list which I simply do not read and thus
automatically delete. If there was a weekly/daily digest of topics then life
would be easier."
RESPONSE (VERSION II):
Some time back I asked list member-subscribers about the desirability of a digest.
The overwhelming consensus was that we didn't need it at an
additional expense.
Remember, I'm not Sailnet or Catalina Direct -- there are no business profit incentives
for my providing a discussion group list to you and others free of charge,
nor in adding more cost to this freebie. It's just money
out of my pocket that I'll never see again to keep it going. You might consider becoming
a List Sponsor with a contribution of your own. (See:
How to Make a
Contribution)
