Re: attachments to msgs.

From: Adrian Smith (A.Smith@centenary.usyd.edu.AU)
Date: Tue Jul 20 1999 - 19:01:46 EST


> Greetings,
>
>My  $.02  worth on this issue. I like attachments.  A picture is 
>worth a lot of words.I personally feel that 3,4,5 paragraph 
>monologues get dreary. I looked at all three of the attachments in 
>questions in less than a minute.  I feel if someone is lesuirely 
>scrolling through their list mailings at home( adult beverage in 
>hand?) with limited bandwidth they should be a little patient or 
>have the wisdom to not access mailings with attachments until they 
>are in front of a proper workstation. We all have pain.  Its a 
>relative experience. I hope that we don't spook honest inquiries off 
>this list by testy responses.  I personally think the original 
>sender should not feel bad about anything, the apology was not 
>necessary, and he should becomplemented  on the energy and time 
>spent to make his inquiry as clear as possible.  These kind of 
>graphics don't pop up much and we ought to cut people a little slack.
>Regards,
>DW
>              Don Walker
>              Chiroscience R&D Inc.
>     1631 220th St. SE.
>     Bothell,WA 98021
>     Fax:425.489.8019
>	  Voice:425.489.8110


Obviously there need to be a policy on attachment for this list so we 
can stop having arguments about it every time it crops up. I agree 
the original poster should be complemented on the effort he put in. 
It not his fault. But we still need to have a clear policy on this 
that we can point to.

I must say I agree with Mario that attachments on a list like this 
are not a good thing and should be filtered out. Mailing lists are 
not like sending a message to a friend. You don't know who is on the 
other end.

Just a few of points in reply to the above posting from Don:-

* Not everyone has a fast internet connection, even at work. Not all 
of us are so "lucky" as to be able to afford to be able to access 
those 3 attachments in under a minute. Those of us who are should not 
be condescending about it but understanding.

* What is more painful - a 3/4/5 paragraph monologue or a 15 minute 
wait while the attachments download

* Not everyone has the facilities to choose which messages to access 
from home as opposed to work. Most of the time all the messages just 
come through.  Sure it can be done but it is a pain, esp.if you use 
the same mailer at home and work (eg on a laptop or ZIP)

* On a mailing list like this with a broad base not everyone is going 
to be interested in every message. It is nice not to have to download 
500 k all the time to find this out.

* As I understand it Internet charges are usually based on MB not 
time (even if your ISP is charging by time).  We are charged $0.19 
for every MB that comes from out of the country. If we had one 
message a day on a list with a 500k attachment that is about $35 a 
year. Doesn't sound much but not all of us work for a company that 
will cover such costs for us. If it became more common/accepted then 
it is easy to imagine how such costs might skyrocket. Obviously Don 
is right when he says it doesn't happen often and we should cut some 
slack but by the same token I think it should be made clear that 
attachments should not be sent to the list (and a filter could be put 
in place that stops the attachments and sends a polite message to 
those who forget).

My $0.02 (+GST) worth,

Adrian


 

******************************************************
Adrian Smith (PhD Student)        T CELL BIOLOGY GROUP
Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine & Cell Biology
Locked Bag No.6 Newtown, NSW 2042 AUSTRALIA. 
****************************************************** 



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