Re: list removal policies?

Christopher Allen (ChristopherA@consensus.com)
Wed, 21 Feb 1996 11:19:16 -0800

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At 3:31 PM 2/17/96, Steve Summit wrote:
>I've already resubscribed, but I'm naturally wondering what could
>have caused me to fall off in the first place. I suspect that
>there was some kind of a transient mailer problem which was
>causing messages to me to bounce or something, and the list
>processing software automatically deleted my address. I also
>recognize that there's not much else a list processor can do in
>this case (i.e., I'm not complaining that I wasn't notified that
>I was dropped). I suppose it's also possible that some idly
>malicious person forged an unsubscribe request in my name.
>
>If the list processor *does* automatically drop addresses which
>are having delivery problems, that fact is probably worth noting
>in a policy file somewhere, along with the fact that the
>afflicted user is responsible for noticing that he has been
>dropped (as it's taken me so long to do), since the list
>processor obviously can't send a "you've been dropped" notice to
>an address it's just determined it can't send to.
>
>Ideally, I suppose, the list processor would wait a week (to give
>the recipient's machine a chance to recover) and then send a
>"you've been dropped" message. If my speculations so far are
>correct, I think I'd like to make this suggestion, although I
>hasten to add that it is just that, a suggestion. (I realize
>that both mailing list operators and mailing list software
>authors are typically terribly busy and may well have more
>important things to do.)

Currently the scripts for the list processor we are using does not
automatically drop addresses when there are delivery problems. Instead, if
we note that a problem continues for more than 48 to 72 hours we go ahead
and manually purge the address.

Since this is not an automated process we don't really have a procedure for
checking again in a week. Ideally, when we get a chance to add some new
scripts to the list processor we'll create a "faq-maintainers-errors" list
that will we'll move error subscribers to that will send a message once a
week telling them how to unsubscribe, then delete them completely after a
month.

>Out of curiosity, which mailing list
>software does faq-maintainers@consensus.com use, and who wrote it?

We are using ListSTAR from Star Nine Technologies
<http://www.starnine.com/> which is a scriptable list processor that runs
on the Macintosh.

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..Christopher Allen Consensus Development Corporation..
..<ChristopherA@consensus.com> 1563 Solano Avenue #355..
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