>On Thu, 15 Sep 1994 20:17:09 EDT, Anthea Tillyer wrote:
>I think that auto-delete is a wonderful feature - in theory.  ...I was
>getting lots of jurt and nasty messages from deleted members.
 
Several YEARS ago Yale promulgated a policy of deleteing ANY subscriber
whose mail was returned for ANY reason.  Yale runs more lists than they
have list owners; many of the lists are a SERVICE to the community and the
'owner' may not have time to actively follow each one.
 
As an owner of a list at Yale, I've found the policy more of a convenience
than a hinderance.  Occasionally, we explain to subscribers that if they
haven't heard from a list for awhile, just send another SUB (if they are
already subscribed, no harm is done).  If they get deleted, complaints
should be directed to their own postmaster.
 
>I'm waiting for the autodelete that will get rid of members who post and
>quote long messages in their entirety...
 
Truly.  Many (most?) of the NetNews programs will not accept a message
unless the 'new' material contains more bytes than what's quoted.  Some of
the lists I subscribe to have more than a handful of members who will
complain to anyone who reposts entire previous messages.  Usually, all it
takes is a "please don't do that" message (and if someone gets a few
hundred of them, they tend to get the idea :)
 
/s Murphy A. Sewall <[log in to unmask]> (203) 486-2489 voice
   Professor of Marketing                          (203) 486-5246 fax