Date:         Sun, 8 Sep 1996 22:50:48 EDT
From: mo-tink-ing <mbarker@MIT.EDU>
Subject:      FILLER: Using The Ol' Subject

[a bit of the boredom and foolishness of listserv, served up...]

A Model Subject (for the Queen to rain on?:-)

Please use the Subject line to tell us what you are sending.  It
should look like: (no dash in front)

-Subject: TOPIC: title

The topics are:

    SUBMISSION or SUB--for the original work
    CRITIQUE or CRIT--for comments or critique of the work
    TECHNIQUE or TECH--for pieces about the technical side of writing
    EXERCISE or EXER--for exercises
    WOW--for news about the World Of Writing
    FILLER or FILL--the odd fluff that keeps sleepy heads from pillows
    INTERACTIVE or IN--interactive thread stories.  join in the fun.

(yes, I know this seems simplistic - there are only nine openings,
and this does the job, mostly.)

You can have re: in there, too, without hurting anything.  I.e.

-Subject: SUB: title
-Subject: re: SUB: title
-Subject: re: re: SUB: title

are all the same (a SUBMISSION) to listserv!  Re: is simply ignored
by listserv when it is checking for the topics.

Incidentally, listserv uses a very simple method of deciding what
topics are.  It does NOT recognize FLR or other innovative versions -
it does recognize any of these

F:
FI:
FIL:
FILL:
FILLE:
FILLER:

as the same thing. (i.e., it starts at the first letter and matches against
the topics until it hits a colon or a letter that doesn't match.)

Clarifications and other fog on the windshield

1.  If listserv doesn't understand the topic (e.g. FLR:), it gets put
in the OTHER bucket (I think that's the right name).  it only goes to
folks on ALL or those few who have specifically subscribed to this
oddball topic.  it won't bother the people who are using topics
filtering at all.

2.  The ALL topic is tricky - it is like the all points alert, it
overrides the topics filtering completely and forces everyone on the
list to get a copy.  Frankly, I would prefer that we limit its use
since it is rather rude.  At the same time, the initial announcement
of a contest (for example) seems almost perfectly suited to this topic,
IF AND ONLY IF people know enough to avoid simply replying to messages
that use it - change that topic.  Frankly, Anthony Dauer did an excellent
job of using it recently to announce his contest.

3.  The documentation says to use

SET WRITERS TOPICS: SUB CRIT EXER

or whatever.  It also says "TOPICS=" will work.  There may be
other commands that will work, but doublecheck afterwards by
sending LISTSERV a message with the text

QUERY WRITERS

to see what your mail parameters are.

4.  To use topics filtering, first send LISTSERV@mitvma.mit.edu
a message with the text

GET WRITERS FAQ1

or look down http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/writers.html
(someone's walking down my links...shivers!)

and a bit of slander about keeping subject lines matched up
with the contents of the messages...

[short pause while our hero clashes lance and shield in
front of a windmill]

Just a reminder:

-Subject: re: SUB: The Never Ending Soap Suds

is considered a submission by LISTSERV.  If you want to make
a comment or critique, use

-Subject: CRIT: The Never Ending Soap Suds

and when the content isn't about the writing anymore, try

-Subject: FILLER: The Never Ending Soap Suds

I.e. try using the topic tags correctly, and change them
when the content of the message changes.

(oh, let's not forget to praise the humble colon.  Without
it, listserv doesn't know the word is a topic, and postings
gang aft algae.  So exercise that right little pinky and
colonize:)

One could even imagine people doing:

-Subject: SUB: (Poem) Wordy Durds
-Subject: SUB: (Romance) Shaving His Hairy Chest
-Subject: SUB: (Essay) Terrorism In Human Relations

which would let those who dislike certain genres delete from
the subject line, although it doesn't do automated filtering
for them... While such a convention has been mentioned from
time to time, and some few have even tried to follow such a
discipline, it is most often honored in the breach...

(and the windmill grinds on, little minding the cavorting
figure before it...)

too long, too boring, and worst of all...
the topic is wrong!

tink