>We (at SHOtimes-l) got so disgusted with "mailbox full" and other errors from
>AOL servers that we set all our AOL subscribers to DIGEST permanently.  We
 
On the other hand, a lot depends on what, exactly, the list *is*.  Some for-funsies
lists are more likely, perhaps, to attract users with a more cavalier attitude, or
those who join a great many lists in their enthusiasm upon first wandering out
onto the Net.  Other, more staid and sober and scholarly, lists, are perhaps more
likely to attract users who use the list as a professional resource, are more
conscientious about such things, and do not join every list in sight.
 
Which does not address the basic question, of course ... but I, too, wonder if
an active, participatory list of 140,000 is something AOL, with its obligations to
its users and the Internet community as a whole, really wants to tackle.  If it's
a broadcast only list, e.g. a once weekly newsletter with no on-list discussion,
that's another matter.  Either way, though, only a very dedicated listowner would
want to handle such a thing, and (s)he'd better have help doing it ...
 
>-- John Witherspoon
>   Washington, DC
 
Mario Rups
also in DC, where the weather was gorgeous and it hardly even rained