CHANGING MESSAGE THREADS

[Nick Marino <rhetonic -at- GTE -dot- NET>]

Dear TECHWR-L Listers:

Got a request to make or perhaps a question to ask, depending on how
y'all respond.

This is a huge list, as we all know.  Many of us just do not have the
time to read every message, even though we would enjoy doing so very
much.

So we compensate by being selective of the threads we chose to read.
The Message thread, then, for us time-pressed TECHWR-L readers becomes
everything.

We chose a message thread that sounds interesting to us because it's
related to something we do or would like to do, or to something that we
are currently experiencing and then one day we download our messages,
eagerly anticipating the next message traffic to our selected thread,
only to be sadly disappointed because our beloved thread has found
another lover and taken a new name.

Perhaps this may seem minor to some listers, but I bet there are a
considerable number of TECHWR-L listers who can relate to what I'm
saying, here.  I realize that message thread name changing is an
inconvenience that can be alleviated with some trouble on the part of
the reader to search for his or her beloved thread under its new name.
And I realize that it's a property of listserves to randomly and
sporadically begin and end threads.  But that is not what I'm talking
about, here.

So I'm asking fellow TECHWR-L listers to please carefully consider
message thread name changing before going through with their change.  I
ask that If you are not actually going to change the subject, that you
leave the thread name alone.  It makes message tracking and archiving so
much easier for those who are pressed for time in a listserve that has
seen huge daily posting on a regular basis.

thanks gang,

Nick