tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Dec 06 13:43:27 1996
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ADMIN: HOW TO GET OFF OF TLHINGAN-HOL
- From: "Jay 'Whip' Grizzard" <[email protected]>
- Subject: ADMIN: HOW TO GET OFF OF TLHINGAN-HOL
- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 1996 13:43:25 -0800 (PST)
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Preface: If you don't want on this list, probably won't want off this
list for a while, or just have a clue, press "delete" now. This is
another one of my patented MailingListRants(TM). It's probably
offensive, very definately hot-tempered, and almost certainly long-winded.
If you -do- want to get off this list, read on...
****
Okay, lets say you want to get off the list. For some reason, you
can't remember how to unsubscribe -- You deleted the intro message
with **IMPORTANT** plastered all over it, you didn't read the headers of
every message that explains how to unsubscribe, and you haven't paid
attention to any of anyone else's messages saying how to get off the
list. What do you do now?
You mail the mailing list! Right?
WRONG...
Even mailing the mailing list a million times going "unsubscribe me"
won't get you unsubscribed. Why? Your listowner ignores requests like
that sent to the list. Why? Because then it happens again, on another
list. And another. And another. Your listowner is a good netizen.
Okay, so what do you do?
Well, to get off the mailing list, send an email to
[email protected]. Leave the subject blank, or at least put something
that doesn't look like a mailing list request ("hello" works
well). LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN. LEAVE THE SUBJECT BLANK, OR AT LEAST PUT
SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A MAILING LIST REQUEST.
In the body of your message, put:
unsubscribe tlhIngan-Hol
You don't need (and, indeed, don't want) anything else. Putting
"unsubscribe [email protected]" won't work, nor will putting
"unsubscribe Your Name", because the listserver won't know which list
to take you off of.
Now, let's say, for the purposes of this email, that for some reason
the listserver won't remove you -- For example, your email address has
changed somewhat since you subscribed. What do you do?
Send a mail to the list, asking to be taken off! Right?
Wrong.
Call the listowner at his house, wake his boyfriend, and threaten to
keep calling until you (whom he hasn't heard of before in his life)
get taken off the list! Right?
Wrong.
Email the listowner, be abusive, and DEMAND to be taken off of the
mailing list! Right?
Wrong.
Email a polite message to the listowner, asking to be taken off of the
mailing list! Right? Right!
That's right, ladies and gents, your list owner is, indeed, a GENUINE
HUMAN BEING, with feelings and emotions. For those that can't quite
grok the concept of politeness, below is an example mail message that
you can send to the listowner:
*****
Hi there! I've been having some trouble unsubscribing to the
tlhIngan-Hol mailing list, so I was wondering if you could be kind
enough to unsubscribe me by hand, please? Thanks!
*****
... So, okay, you've mailed the listowner. 25 minutes pass... and
you're still not unsubscribed! What do you do now? Call the listowner?
Threaten him? Mailbomb the list?
Nope. You HAVE SOME FUCKING PATIENCE. As I mentioned before, the
listowner is a genuine human being, and therefore has other things to
do than wait around all day for someone to send him email about the
mailing list. Specifically, it can sometimes take 4 or 5 days (gasp!)
for the listowner to get around to maintenance on the list.
And what do you do if 4 or 5 days have passed? Spam the list? Call the
listowner? Threaten him? Nope.
Like all human beings, the listowner isn't perfect. Sometimes requests
don't get processed. A polite reminder (note that word there --
polite) can help serve as a reminder. [As a general rule, though,
you'll never have to do this.]
Oh, and what's the listowner's address, you ask? It's
[email protected]. This is in the header of every message from the
list, in every error message from the listserver, and in the intro
document you got when you subscribed to the list.
****
Some notes:
I'll deal with ANY polite email as fast as I can -- This can take a
while sometimes, but I do try my damndest to take care of it all. A
gentle reminder never hurts, if it's been more than 4 or 5 days.
Impolite/demanding/threatening email, I'll respond to with a request
to be polite, IF I have the time. Sometimes, I just delete it. (Think
about it... If someone threatens YOU, are you more or less inclined to
go out of your way to do something for them?) In no cases will it
actually get you off the list. (I'm a human being, I'm trying to do
something that's fun for folks, and I'm DAMNED WELL going to be
treated like a human being).
Emailing the list doesn't work. I don't usually read the list. And
even if I -do- notice that someone is mailing the list, I ignore them,
since they'll just do the same thing on another list, since they've
been taught that it works.
Spamming the list doesn't work, either. I'll set you so that the list
will ignore you, but it won't get you off the list.
Spamming -me- doesn't work, either, for that matter. I'll procmail
your email address straight into /dev/null, and then you'll -never- be
able to get in touch with me to take you off the list.
Oh, emailing me uuencoded core files won't get you very far, either.
[Just FYI, -everything- mentioned in this document has happened to me
in the past few weeks. Of all of them, a majority of them had come
from folks that had never even emailed me before in their life -- I
know, I checked my sendmail logs. I think, all told, one person I've
talked to in the past 3 months had a legitimate complaint.]
Really, gang. Use some bloody common sense. By spamming the list,
you're just harassing hundreds of people that can't help you. By
spamming or threatening the listowner, you're making the person that
can help you unwilling to help you. Doesn't make much sense, does it?
-WW
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