Below are several replys and comments on the topic of asking for personal replies to a question. As you can see many people would like to see the answers to most of the posted questions. I would suggest that when people get personal replies to questions posted on Maps-L that they make a summary of the replies and post that summary to the list. Please make sure and use the same subject as the posted question so the answer can be searched. When many answers to a Maps-L question are received by the list I try to put them in a digest form of under 300 lines to cut down on traffic. There are some questions and traffic that are personal and for which the reply messages should go to the individual and not the list - like give me 'all' those dups you just announced!! As in the past I will try to forward that traffic. Thanks, Johnnie --------------------------- Mon, 24 May 1993 13:46:35 +1000 (EST) margaret eva <[log in to unmask]> Information to list I am glad someone has put into words the disappointment I also feel when the answer to an interesting question is not to be posted to the list. Maps-L is a well-moderated list so there should not be any problems. Margaret Eva Geology Library University of Queensland ----------------------------------- [log in to unmask] 24 May 93 08:50:31 CST Personal replies--was software > I am concerned about so many participants of Maps-L asking important > questions and then asking people only to reply to them directly. I also > would benefit from getting some of this information. I am referring here > to the question from the National Geographic Soc Library about a certain > kind of software - Can we all have the answer please Does anyone else > agree with me about this matter ?? Joan Winearls, Univ of Toronto > Map Library (do not reply directly to me !) Joan (et al.), I share your sentiments and was, in fact, preparing a posting to that effect about a week ago when I was interrupted and didn't get back at it. I had initially thought that some classes of requests do call for direct reply (Where is Boofberg, Silesia?), however, we are not certain that the question is being adequately answered, if at all, or, on the other hand, whether the person is being smothered with personal responses. Not to ruffle anyone's feathers, but I would also suggest that such a request for a personal reply is somewhat of a breach of netiquette since the person is saying, in effect, "I don't have time to wade through what you people have to say, but I do need you to answer my question." I would humbly suggest that any inquiry _to_ the net should be answered _on_ the net, and should be tagged appropriately, so, if Boofberg doesn't interest you, jut delete it! Chris Baruth ------------------------------- Mon, 24 May 93 08:48:33 EDT H Armstrong <[log in to unmask]> MAPSL Protocol Joan, you are not alone in your desire to have the answers posted to many of the questions with the phrase "reply directly to me". There have been numerous GIS questions especially, whose answers I would liked to have seen also. Perhaps the sender mistakenly thinks the answer would be boring to some of the members because of our diverse nature. However, I feel we should post the answers and those who are not interested can simply delete that message. A probable exception to this would be the responses to map requests which are of an interlibrary loan nature. Another exception might be the responses to free map offers. While I would hate to see the List cluttered with personal business, I too am concerned about the elimination of important information that can be hard to obtain elsewhere. In light of these statements, I would urge the LIST members always to use the Subject field with appropriate headings. This would greatly facilitate the use of the list and speed up the process of review. As pointed out in an earlier message, it would certainly assist the retrieval from archival messages. HelenJane Armstrong, Map & Imagery Library University of Florida ------------------------------ Mon, 24 May 93 08:37:34 CDT Lisa Recupero <RECUPERO@UMRVMB> Re: software I agree with Ms. Winearls! As a "green" librarian I think hearing the responses to the "ecclectic" questions that are usually tagged as "respond directly to me and not to the list" would be most helpful! If it's not possible/recommeded to respond directly to the list, a summarized version of the responses posted on maps-l would also be appreciated. Thanks!! Lisa Recupero ===== [log in to unmask] University of Missouri-Rolla Reference ------------------------------ Mon, 24 May 1993 09:05:34 -0700 (PDT) Connie Manson <[log in to unmask]> Re: software Folks-- To Joan Winearls' comment I say, HEAR! HEAR! Eavesdropping on these kinds of discussions is one of my favorite ways to keep up, with issues, new technologies, etc. It's why I signed onto this network in the first place. -- Connie Manson Washington Div. Geology and Earth Resources Olympia, Wash. On Sun, 23 May 1993, Joan Winearls wrote: > ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > I am concerned about so many participants of Maps-L asking important > questions and then asking people only to reply to them directly. I also > would benefit from getting some of this information. I am referring here > to the question from the National Geographic Soc Library about a certain > kind of software - Can we all have the answer please Does anyone else > agree with me about this matter ?? Joan Winearls, Univ of Toronto > Map Library (do not reply directly to me !) --------------------------------- Mon, 24 May 93 10:02:56 EDT Glenda Hughes <LIBGFH@GSUVM1> Re: software Colleagues, I, too, would like to see responses to hardware/software questions, and in fact; many of the other questions. I learn as much from this list as I do anything. And I am still not knowledgeable enough. ghughes