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The Revised LISTSERV Distribution List <LSTSRV-L@DEARN> |
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Eric Thomas <ERIC@FRECP11> |
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Wed, 6 Jan 88 21:53:21 SET |
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Your message of Wed, 6 Jan 88 15:23:29 EST |
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The Revised LISTSERV Distribution List <LSTSRV-L@DEARN> |
SIGNOFF commands have always been a problem with uneducated users. Sigh /Eric
+------------------------------------------------+
| Eric Thomas <ERIC@FRECP11> |
| World's best expert on super-duper signatures |
| Director of the Audit Division's Flaming Group |
| (blah blah) |
| Ecole Centrale de Paris, France |
+------------------------------------------------+
.........................................................................
> Good grief. And when I am through clearing the chad off my machine,
>I can dump the next message.... it strikes me that in 1988 (yes, it's
>not 1958 anymore), we HAVE the technology to eliminate such useless
>junk mail, EVEN if uneducated (or forgetful) users keep sending it
>to TeX-L. And the solution is simple, a four-year old could probably
>write it in a couple of hours: scan the body of any single-line message,
>and if it begins with a command appropriate for LISTSERV (e.g. SUBSCRIBE,
>UNSUBSCRIBE, etc.), simply re-direct it to LISTSERV instead of re-broadcasting
>it to the entire list.
>
> David A. Kosower
> [log in to unmask]
Please note that if I had implemented Mr Kosower's idea, this very
mailfile would not have been distributed but forwarded to LISTSERV for
execution, and I would have been told that there is no 'COMMANDS' list.
Not to mention the fact that there are commands with a much shorter
abbreviation or with a very common name (examples: 'FOR', 'GET', 'I').
Since 'I' stands for 'INFO', any note starting with 'I' is a potentially
valid LISTSERV command file.
Obviously Mr Kosower has analysed the problem with the intellect of a
four-years old boy. I remember myself telling my parents "Why do you
always complain about not having much money? Just go to the bank more
often to get more banknotes" when I was 4. It seemed pretty obvious and
logical to me.
Eric
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