I have a new e-mail address. It is mhavens, followed by the @ (at) symbol, and then alcade.net. So if you were to send me an e-mail, and not use the form, you'd type in mhavens[at]alcade.net. Got that? I'll try to send out a mass mailing here in a little bit, but that will involve searching for everyone's address. As I mentioned before, I got tired of receiving up to forty SPAM messages a day, so hopefully a new address will fix that.
I've also set up a newslist. Before I get started with the "how to use it" information, I'll take a moment to explain what exactly a newslist does. A newslist is basically a group of people who all can receive and send mail to a particular e-mail address. For example, lets say Bryan, Nick, Nathan, and Zach all belong to a newsgroup. We'll say that the newsgroup's e-mail address is newsgroup@ournewsgroup.com. Lets say, hypothetically, that Bryan will be having a party on the 22nd, and he wants everyone to know. Rather than e-mailing Nick, Nathan, and Zach individually, he can send a message to newsgroup@ournewsgroup.com and it will be sent to the entire group.
To help explain this concept (I feel it needs some explanation) I have prepared a list of questions that I feel are likely to be encountered.
Q: Will my e-mail address be available to other members of the newsgroup, or will my e-mail address be available anywhere online?
A: No, only I will have access to the list. The list will not be available online.
Q: What kind of messages will I be allowed to send?
A: I would like to keep message traffic down to a minimum, pertaining only to useful information. For example, if Bryan wishes to have a party, he can send a message to the group indicating the date and time, and what not. Or perhaps Zach will be home from school on a particular weekend, and would like to alert everyone. This is acceptable. Also, it might have been a long time since Nathan has seen anyone, and he wishes to send out an e-mail telling everyone hello and that he has a new phone number. This is also acceptable.
Q: What kind of messages would you consider off-topic?
A: The newslist would not be something where you would, for example, RSVP for a party. If someone announces a party, it is up to them to provide an e-mail address or phone number if they are going to require an RSVP. Basically, "one-liners" are frowned upon.
Q: So I can't send stupid messages to the list?
A: No. Nobody cares that you have diarrhea or that there is a sale at Wal-Mart.
Q: Will this list be moderated?
A: No, and I would like to keep it that way. I may choose to make it moderated (messages must be approved by myself before they can be sent out) if I feel that stupid things are being announced. The reason I'm sounding like a bit of a hardass Nazi here is because I had the "privilege" of serving as somewhat of a moderator for the ASFAR mailing list. Having anywhere between 20-30 messages to sort through a day for appropriateness was not my idea of fun. Nor is the cornball "fuck you" answers I get when I bring it to their attention.
Q: Will I be able to unsubscribe from the newslist?
A: Unsubscribing will be an automated process which you can do yourself without any sort of waiting period.
Q: Who can join?
A: Anyone who wishes.
Q: How do I join?
A: You will send a blank e-mail to news-subscribe[at]alcade.net. You will receive an automatic confirmation letter, which you must reply to. After that, you are on the list.
Q: How will I be able to unsubscribe?
A: Send a blank e-mail to news-unsubscribe[at]alcade.net. Once again you will receive an automatic confirmation letter, which you must reply to. After you have replied, you will be immediately removed from the list.
Q: What is the newsgroup's address?
A: The address is news[at]alcade.net. Sending an e-mail to this address will be relayed to everyone in the newsgroup.
Q: My messages keep bouncing back to me! Whats wrong here?
A: Thats because you at not substituting the "@" symbol for the words "[at]" in the addresses I have typed above.
Q: Is "Charles" really your middle name? That sounds kind of gay...
A: Yes, it really is my middle name.
Q: What was that address again?
A: To subscribe:
Send a blank e-mail to news-subscribe[at]alcade.net
Reply to the confirmation e-mail
To send a message:
Send your message to news[at]alcade.net
To unsubscribe:
Send a blank e-mail to news-unsubscribe@alcade.net
Reply to the confirmation e-mail
There, I hope this turns out to be a good idea. I've actually been thinking of it for awhile, since a lot of times people will post invitations in my comment section and I will update a few hours later with no one having seen it. This should fix that, assuming that it interests people enough to join. I will try to put up a separate page with instructions and what not later, but I'm kinda busy right now.