On Sat, 20 Aug 1994, Eric Thomas wrote:
> In the vast majority of cases, list owners aren't sending DELETE commands
> to delete the BITNET form of someone's dual subscription; they are
> sending a DELETE command to get someone off the list, completely.
Actually, at least half of the deletes I do involve subscribers' old
BITNET addresses. Some because of problems, some because I periodically
search the list for such things and then ask the subscriber if both
supscriptions are wanted (the BITNET is usually set nomail).
I've deleted well over 100 such extraneous subscriptions in the past
couple of years and never before have I had a delete for a BITNET
subscription delete the Internet sub as well, nor have an option change
for a single subscription change both. Hence my puzzlement. Now that
I know that is how it is supposed to work I won't worry about it in
the future.
> Often
> the request comes from the user in the form of a mail message asking to
> be removed from the list. The mail message is usually the Internet
> address, and the subscription is often a BITNET address, but the opposite
> is also possible.
Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I never delete until I check
what the actual subscription(s) is/are. I don't trust the subscribers
word for it (wrong more often than not) nor do I trust the address in
the header of the subscriber's request, as I know that some mailers will
change the From: information depending on whether it is going to a
BITNET address (like UBVM, which is where the list is) or to an Internet
address (like me, strictly Internet). That's why when I specify an
exact address I am surprised when the command generates output I would
expect from using a wildcard.
> This is why the DELETE command removes ALL matching
> addresses, and tells you so. If it worked otherwise, you would then
> complain that DELETE is not working as it should :-)
I wouldn't complain about it, as I think a delete for an exact address
should effect that exact address and nothing else. If I want to delete
all of the persons subscriptions I can use wildcards.
> As Peter said, dual
> subscriptions are not normally possible. You need a situation like the
> one he describes, where the two subscriptions were made before the
> addition of a :internet tag, to get the problem you are experiencing.
>
This is probably the case. I can live with this, now that I know it
can happen. I had just never seen it before. But that won't change
my opinion that a delete, or a set, for an exact, specified address
should effect only that address and no other.
By the way, I have to disagree with those complaining about AUTODELETE
the past month or so. Saves us a *lot* of work.
Douglas Winship Austin, Texas [log in to unmask]
Secondary AUTOCAT Listowner
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