Many thanks to Alan McColm, who wrote to us admins privately to get a handle on list mode vs. digest mode. He and the others who joined us after I switched us to digest mode have only just begun to experience list mode -- at least on our list -- so I thought I'd answer Alan's questions here for all to read. Whether sponsored by Rootsweb or other organizations like Yahoo, Google, colleges, etc., mailing lists typically have two modes of operation: list (sometimes known as non-digest) and digest. If you're subscribed in list mode, you receive each post to the list as a separate email. If you're subbed in digest mode, you receive several posts in one email. The advantage of list mode is that you get each post individually, distinct from other posts. It's also easy to reply to a post because few changes are required to compose it. The disadvantage is the frequency of mail to your inbox, but that's only a consideration with very active lists, which we haven't been for some time. The advantage of digest mode is that your inbox traffic is reduced -- multiple list posts are batched into a single email. The disadvantage is that effective, uncluttered replies require more work on your part. You have to strip out everything that's not pertinent to what you're responding to, and you have to change the subject line to reflect this. There's a header to this effect at the beginning of each digest: "When replying to a digest message, quote only the specific message to which you are replying, removing the rest of the digest from your reply. Remember to change the subject of your reply so that it coincides with the message subject to which you are replying." Nonetheless, conformance to this guideline is a continual problem with our digest mode subscribers, so we get list posts with inaccurate subjects and extraneous texts. As you can imagine, this problem was exacerbated while we were all in digest mode. It's easy to tell if you're in list or digest mode. List mode emails only have one topic, and the subject line should reflect it (but not if our posting guidelines aren't followed). Digest emails include multiple posts that are labelled Message 1, Message 2, etc., and the subject reads "SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE Digest, Vol n, Issue nnn." Regardless of whether you're subbed in list mode or digest mode, your chances of receiving a response are improved considerably by using a precise subject. Guidelines about this and much more are in the welcome message that goes to each new subscriber. I think I'll post it after this 'cause it has good reminders for all of us. Mary At 04:20 AM 11/6/2013, Alan McColm wrote: >Hi Folks >For the uninitiated could you please explain the difference between >the 2 modes e.g.brief pros and cons of each. Also can I easily tell >by looking at my emails which mode I am in? >Thanks >Alan