First off, I've made some immediate changes:
1) the footer at the bottom of every message has been removed (its still on
the digest and index)
2) the listname prefix on the subject of the messages has been removed
3) I created filters to catch and seamlessly redirect all of the old-style
commands to the new commands
The first two items on that list are quite useful features for lists with
newbies on them. However, on lists with more net-savvy members they are
often unnecessary. For now I have left the headers unchanged.
Now I'll try to address a number of issues raised by the list. If I miss
something or you want to discuss any point further, I encourage you to write
to me privately rather than the list. While it does affect everyone, there
are hundreds of people on the list and none of them signed up for a list
server debate. If interest warrents, we can even create a separate temporary
list just for discussing this.
1) Header MessageID rewriting
Lyris rewrites the MessageID on messages it sends for two reasons. First of
all, it actually generates a new, unique message for each recipient. This
has a tradeoff with bandwidth, but it enables each message to be customized
for the recipient (and without changing the messageid's, some Large
Proprietary Mail Systems would cache the message and not deliver the right
copies).
If the header it is producing violates some RFC, both myself and the
developer would be very interested in tracking down the problem and fixing
it. Feel free to contact me directly.
2) Special substitution tags
You know the line... "This is not a bug, it's a feature!"
You all have noticed that Lyris has some Perl-like substitution tags in it.
These are used primarily for server generated messages to insert recipient
specific information. It allows us to put a failsafe List-Unsubscribe header
in, which is unique to the recipient and works even when the message is
forwarded through multiple accounts and gateways. This would have to be the
#1 problem for list members and admins alike... being subscribed under some
address but not knowing which one.
Things will work best if you don't use them in your posts. They are uncommon
enough that they should be easy to avoid. Without them attached to the
bottom of every message, they should be easy to forget about. However, if
you feel you must use them, they are fully documented at
<http://www.lyris.com/help/LyrisMailMerge.html>
3) Old ListSTAR commands
I have created redirects for the old ListSTAR commants, so if you sent some
in but had problems you can try again. Everyone on the list should now have
the new instructions in a separate letter, so it would be best if you
started using those. However, there are still lots of web pages and
newsgroup archives which reference the old commands, so we'll leave these in
place indefinitely. It would be great if the owners of those archives could
update them or send me instructions on how I can do it.
4) Bug reports
Please write to me with your initial concerns, not the Lyris company. It is
not their job to handle tech support for this list, it my responsibility.
Please direct your comments to me and I will work with the developer if
necessary.
This list isn't the best place to discuss it either, since it could get
quite technical and has nothing to do with FAQ Maintanence.
~Josh
-- ---------------------------------------------------------------
Joshua D. Baer SKYLIST.net
<mailto:Josh@SKYLIST.net> Virtual Communities
<phone:412.422.4004> <http://www.SKYLIST.net/>
And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.
- Dr. Seuss
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