Re: TOC for LUG digest -- configurations

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@apple.com>]

>>To whomever maintains this list: couldn't you find a way for us to have such
>>a TOC in our digest as well? It would be much appreciated. 
>>
>For those who like the digest format, this is a great idea--I've appreciated
>it in the Medium Format Digest.  But it means a great deal of work for the
>person who maintains the list.  The MFD person actually does some cleaning
>up of the posts (e.g., getting rid of the garbage at the top) and has the
>power to end a thread (exercised once that I can remember in a year or so).

That's incorrect. It's all a matter of the list server software and how 
you set it up. I admin a motorcycle mailing list, running on the listproc
server (LUG and Rollei are being run on the majordomo software). I didn't
set up the server, but the digest form of that mailing list is fully 
automatic with a daily TOC on top of the postings. The MFD is a moderated
list rather than a fully automated one: that's the choice of the founder 
and
administrator and determines how the software is configured. 

I don't know whether majordomo software can be configured to automate the
TOC, but Brian Reid would certainly know. I don't personally find it all 
that useful a function, but it does give a quick scan to see how many 
people
responded to a thread. The reason it isn't all that useful is that, as we
are all aware, topic drift within a thread can be pretty extensive. You 
might not see the subject as interesting, but if you follow it there
might be a lot of discussion on the thread that is germaine to your 
interests. On a moderated list, this can be easily controlled, on an
automated list it takes diligence on the part of the subscibers/posters
to keep their subject lines related to the content of their posts.

And we all know how good we are at that minor chore... ;)

Godfrey