Dave Cole's Lament

You said:

"I still don't get this whole digest thing, why use it if it makes it harder to follow a string, that just makes it harder to figure out who, what, why, where, and how."

I've been out on vacation, so I'm a little late with this. Actually, it's the NON-digest users who are complaining of having a hard time following a string. Digest users get about 25 messages per digest (usually two a day), and it's quite easy to follow the thread. And now, with users cutting out the fat in replies, it is much easier to read. Several non-digest users have mentioned that they won't use it because they don't have the time to sit there and go through them. Well, I'd say it's much easier to zip through a well-groomed digest than to decide which of the many incoming email I wish to read and which to delete. Non-digest users who are having trouble remembering threads should save important threads in a separate folder until the thread is done, so they can refer back to them if necessary. I do this in business correspondence, and it definitely comes in handy when I need to refresh my memory.

To all non-digest users irritated by this whole editing thing: Look at it this way. You are irritated by editing because you can't remember earlier parts of a thread. Digest users are irritated by a tremendous amount of fluff in the digests. YOU can save important emails relating to threads you are interested in until you don't need them any more. Problem solved. Digest users have no choices. We're gonna get what you send!

Gary Grenier
Bell Manufacturing Co.
ggrenier@...



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