This is a draft of the letter I'd like to send to list owners who have their list set up for Subscription=public but Notebooks=private. A few weeks ago, we discussed this problem and resolved that the I should write these list owners and state our case the for why they should change their settings. I'd like feedback from the group before sending it out. There are 910 lists which are set up this way. John Buckman Logika Inc. ********************************************************** To: LISTSERV list owner My name is John Buckman, and I work for Logika Inc, the company developing graphical software to make LISTSERV easier to use. It is called "InfoMagnet" and will be available in August. I am writing to you because your LISTSERV list is set up with Subscription=Open, but Notebooks=Private. This means that users who would like search your archives must first subscribe, then search, and finally signoff. Otherwise they will receive an "access control violation." In non-technical terms, this means that a user cannot see what has been discussed on your list without subscribing. Since subscription to your list is open, from a security perspective it does not make sense to have private notebooks. You are not gaining any extra security, just causing a little frustration. I'm asking you to change your LISTSERV list settings to Notebooks=public. The reason this issue has come up is because our software makes database searches very easy to use, where before they were not. For instance, you can "Peek" at a list and see topics recently discussed on your group -- this lets people get an idea what a list is like before committing to subscribe. Changing your notebooks to public also means you will not have people doing the subscribe/signoff dance in order to do a database search. This means less junk messages to you, the list owner, and thus less administrative hassle. This issue was brought a few weeks ago in the List Owners group (LSTOWN-L). The concensus of the list owners was that a letter (this one) should be mailed to list owners who have subscription=open and notebooks=private. People agreed that the change made sense, and this was the best way to make it happen. You can write to me, John Buckman, at [log in to unmask], or bring any issues you would like to discuss to LSTOWN-L. If you like, I can send you a document showing how to make the change to your list. Thanks! John Buckman