Well I think there are at least two potential probelms with this:
1. The person asking the question must "summarize" the replies. I suspect that
try as we might, sometimes we will just forget to do our duty and summarize. Or
summarize incorrectly or incompletely. That way we all lose.
2. On other occasions, the summary will be someone's interpretation of a number
of replies. By the time we read the summary, it will have passed through one
more "filter". I would personally rather read the original reply especially
since over time I have come to "know" the way certain posters describe whatever
it is they're writing about.
If the person with the question chooses to provide a summary and it is a good
one, it should then be posted to a suitable location where anyone can get it
anytime (ie. the VTR pages or some other such place).
Peter Zaborski
76 TR6 (CF58310 UO)
Calgary AB Canada
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark J Bradakis [SMTP:mjb@autox.team.net]
Sent: Monday, December 30, 1996 2:01 PM
To: triumphs@triumph.cs.utah.edu
Subject: BOUNCE triumphs: Non-member submission from [Ed Rush
<EdRush@fan.net>]
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 1996 18:30:33 -0800
From: Ed Rush <EdRush@fan.net>
Reply-To: EdRush@fan.net
Subject: Re: Netiquette: Question about thank-you messages
At 10:14 PM 12/22/96 -0800, John Cowan wrote:
> It seems time effective to post "results" and thanks. That way
> everybody gets to learn how things turned out...
> What do others think?
Another list I know insists that replies be private, BUT that the
person asking the question post a summary or digest of the replies.
This cuts down the number of messages that get posted, and especially
cuts the redundancies. For example, suppose Jay asks where the
widget is located on his TR-9, and then five other TR-9 owners
post replies that it is under the frammis except on the blue models.
Wouldn't you rather see this important information in a summary,
and not in five separate messages?
Someone else suggested that the car model be in the subject line.
This is an excellent notion. For example, as the owner of a TR-3,
I have only a passing interest in Spitfire items. With the model
in the subject, I can save a lot of time by deleting all of the
Spitfire items, and the Spit owners can save a lot of time by
deleting all of the TR-3 items.
--
Ed Rush, lead technical writer
Savi Technology
Mountain View, California
-> mail to "EdRush@fan.net" is currently forwarded to "ERush@Savi.com"
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