Newbie File

This is the "newbie" file for the vintagebus list. We get a lot of subscribers who are new (or fairly new) to the Internet. If you've never been on a mailing list before, you are STRONGLY encouraged to read this file.

MAILING LISTS -- what they are, how they work

Mailing lists are the oldest information "protocol" on the net. They take place entirely through email messages. Very basically, here is how the "mechanics" work:

a subscriber like you sends an email message about buses to a "reflector". The "reflector" is usually called the list server or listserv.
the server takes your single email message and re-sends it to every subscriber on the list. This is done with automated software; there is no human intervention.
the other subscribers can then read your message as if you had sent it straight to them. They can reply to you only, or they can reply to the list, in which case the whole process repeats itself (or of course they may chose to not reply at all).

THE LIST SERVER -- understand how it works

The server--the "machine" that distributes the list to its subscribers--is software, just like the software you use every day on your computer. When you use your software, you control it by clicking on icons or choosing options from menus or typing input.

You can also control the list server, just like you can control your own programs. Like all other software, list servers exist for the sole purpose of doing what humans want done.

But the list server is just a little different because it doesn't live on your computer, so you can't point and click. The list server lives somewhere else--it can be anywhere in the world. So instead of pointing and clicking, you tell the list server what to do by sending commands to it in email messages. The server will receive your message, extract the command from it, and act on it. Then it will usually send you back a "receipt" so you know your command was succesful. Pretty cool, no?

There aren't that many commands because list servers are not very complicated (at least as far as the subscribers are concerned). The only commands you really need to worry about are subscribe (which starts the list mail coming) and unsubscribe (which stops it). The important thing is to understand that the server is just a bit of software. Now we'll talk about how to control that software.

THE LIST IS NOT THE SERVER -- there's a big difference

This is where many newbies get tripped up. The LIST is where you send messages about buses. The LIST SERVER is where you send administrative commands, like unsubscribe. The way you can tell them apart is that they have DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESSES. This will be true for every mailing list you will ever be on.

In our case, list messages should always be sent to this address--this is the address of the "reflector":

vintagebus@type2.com

And here is the list server's address:

vintagebus-request@type2.com (if you are not on digest)

vintagebus-digest-request@type2.com (if you are on digest)

See? Adding "-request" to the list address makes the mail go to the server instead of the list. This will work with all other lists you'll come across, too; while there are lots of different mailing list software schemes out there, sending mail to listname-request@host will nearly always work--and if it doesn't, it will get you an automated response that tells you what you need to do differently. The important thing is to NEVER post administrative commands to the list. It won't do what you want done and it will make the subscribers and the administrator angry.

THE DIGEST -- messages within messages

Most lists come in two flavors. You can get the list in "individual message" flavor. If you choose this one, you get each list message as it's posted. This lets you see each message immediately and it makes replying somewhat easier. The downside is that it can cause serious mailbox clutter, especially on busy lists like ours, and it takes up a lot more space on your disk because of all the useless header information you'll get. Understand that dealing with colossal amounts of data is a learned skill--and if you haven't honed that skill yet, we strongly suggest that you get the list in digest flavor.

In "digest" flavor, the server packs up lots of individual messages in one big one. Our digests come out when accumulated messages reach a threshold of about 32K bytes. This usually contains about 20 messages, but it could be more and could be as few as three. You'll get three or four digests on an average day, less on weekends when we're slow.

If you want to switch to digest, send an unsubscribe message to:

type2-request@type2.com

and then send a subscribe message to:

type2-digest-request@type2.com

If you subscribed from the type2.com web page, you're already on digest so you should probably just leave it. If you really want to switch to real-time, you can infer the way to do it from what I just told you. If you can't figure it out, you should definitely stay on digest. ;)

The downside to digest mode is that when you reply to a message, you have to paste in an appropriate subject line. If you forget to do this, your message will be intercepted by the server (which knows to search for these) and returned to you.

YOUR MAIL PROGRAM -- understand how it works

It is crucial that you understand this. I'm not gonna ask you to read the documentation that came with your mail program because I've never read mine either, but I am going to ask you to experiment a little.

You MUST know who you are replying to when you reply to a list message.

You can end up with any of three sorts of reply:

you can reply to the list only (not recommended but not discouraged)
you can reply to the sender of the message only (we'll go over this)
you can reply to both the sender and the list (we'll go over that too)

Your reply will go to the addresses in the "To:" and the "Cc:" lines of your reply. "Cc:" means "carbon copy" and in practice it is exactly the same thing as "To:". All mail programs let you see and edit these header lines. MAKE SURE that your message is going where it should go.

You should reply to the sender of the message only if your reply might not be interesting to everybody on the list. Examples:

"I have one of those gizmos you're looking for."

"I'm interested in buying the barndoor you're advertising for sale."

"Way to go, Bubba!"

"I think when we go camping at Mountain Meadows we should bring plenty of toilet paper."

You should reply to the both the sender and the list if your reply contains information that you think will be useful to everybody on the list. The reason you reply to both is to make sure the sender sees your message; he'll get your reply by private mail even if he misses it on the list. Examples:

"The total advance of the 009 differs, depending on whether it's German or Brazilian."

"I had a bad experience with Shyster Mail-Order Parts, too. Here's what happened."

I said I was going to ask you to experiment: figure out what the reply options are in your particular mail program. Try different things and WATCH YOUR HEADERS. Usually, you can choose between "reply" and "reply to all", but see what works for you. Do not send messages that don't turn out right, of course. Delete those and start over.