Though I have not done extensive testing, I am currently making use of
the DIGEST feature at current LISTSERV maintenance level e.g., NDSUVM1
and at BETA levels e.g., PSUVM.
 
It seems to work well.  Some anomalous behavior exists when a list
definition is _changed_ from (the default of) daily to weekly, and you
already had your personal options set before the change -- you continue
to get the more frequent DIGEST distributions until the beginning of
the longer cycle (or so it seemed to me under 1.7fbeta).
 
I also tested a DIGEST distribution for my list that was NOT archived
-- worked as advertized.
 
Here is the relevant list header (no notebook) --
 
* Digest= Yes,x1/300,daily,size(1000),23:00
 
This is really nice for lists which have high traffic, but your are
essentially a lurker (something that I'm know for ;-))
 
INDEX works well too (of course it only will work where NOTEBOOKs
exist).  I did not try this with an archived list that had explicitly
turned off DIGEST -- to see if there was an interaction (I'm not sure
that you can get an INDEX under those conditions, but I suspect NOT
since that's how I interpretted Eric's postings.)
 
Finally, I tried TOPICS, first looking to see if other 1.7f-beta sites
had enabled this on their lists (my search of about 10 USA (+SEARN)
sites (LIST DETAILED) revealed NO topics= keyword, which I thought
strange).
 
Again, limited testing seems to show that it works (of course there was
no real doubt).
 
Here is the relevant list header -
 
* topics= seminar,owner,etc
 
I did NOT try TOPICS with DIGEST (or INDEX).
 
All in all, I am looking forward for the official release AND install-
ation of 1.7f !
 
Are we having fun yet?
 
/Pete ([log in to unmask])
--
Peter M. Weiss                     | oas.psu.edu postmaster
31 Shields Bldg -- Penn State Univ.| "Connectivity is more than a Connection"
University Park, PA USA 16802-1202 | E. Michael Staman, _The Circuit_, Apr 92