On 12/18/97 6:42 AM, John Bachman <[log in to unmask]> wrote... >I have been watching all the discussion on ways to prevent subscribers from >posting attachments to the list. Why do you want to do that? Are there >problems created by attachments. There are many, many reasons. First, and most importantly, it's an incredible waste of bandwidth. Multiple a simple 100K file over 1000 subscribers, and all of a sudden you're sending 100 megabytes through the LISTSERV. Secondly, the attachment will get converted into a MIME or other text-based attachment, which only serves to confuse many net novices. Thirdly, some people - like me, hate getting attachments shoved down their throats unannounced. Much better to post a web or FTP URL, and if I want the file, I'll get it myself. Why force your file on all your subscribers, when you can empower them to get the file themselves if they ways it. My downloads directory is full of files that I never asked for and don't want. Every month I clean out over a megabyte of that crap. Fourthly, many people pay for their connect time - either through online charges or phone charges. Is it fair to make them pay for an attachment that they didn't ask for? Fifthly, many people have become paranoid of attachments because of their proclivity to contain virii or password sniffers (especially AOL members). You're causing them unnecessary distress. For all these reasons, and probably more, it's simply wrong to send attachments through a list. If your file is so great, they'll get it themselves if you tell them where to get it. But please don't force it on them. -- Adam Bailey | Chicago, Illinois -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-| "Do not take life too seriously; [log in to unmask] | you will never get out of it alive." [log in to unmask] | - Elbert Hubbard Finger for PGP | http://www.tezcat.com/~adamb