AutoFAQ Sent to Over 15,000 rec.radio.amateur.misc Posters
Paul W. Schleck K3FU
posters to rec.radio.amateur.misc. This is accomplished via a special
Perl script originally written by comp.infosystems.www.* FAQ maintainer
Tom Boutell, who uses it on comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html, to send
each poster such a letter once, and only once. It runs from a Unix cron
job on my host every morning at 2 AM and queries my local news server
via NNTP for the headers of any new articles posted to this newsgroup.
About 15-25 new posters on average receive the message each day. Though
substantially silent-running and low-maintenance, over those three
years, the script suffered from two minor "oops" events:
1. Some as-yet undetermined file write error (possibly from a quota
hard-limit on the system) truncated my previous-poster file to zero,
and accidentally sent the message twice to a small number of
recipients (essentially the posters of articles to
rec.radio.amateur.misc in my local news spool on Friday, February
19, 1999).
2. A bug in Version 1.2.1 of the Typhon news server (installed by my
ISP on or about April 3, 1999) which caused "References" instead of
"Reply-To" headers to be returned when requested by the script using
NNTP protocol, thus addressing the automated welcome messages to
Message-ID contents. This mildly annoyed one postmaster who
redirected to his mailbox all E-mail addressed to his domain, but
with invalid mailboxes (e.g., the numeric, pseudo "addresses" used
for Usenet article Message-ID headers).
In both cases, the problem was easily diagnosed, fixed, and enhancements
were made to the script to ensure that the problem would not happen
again.
Here are the milestones in terms of number of recipients, and the date
each milestone was attained:
Recipients: Date: Average Recipients/Month (approx.):
0 September 21, 1996 N/A
5,000 July 5, 1997 625
7,500 December 7, 1997 500
10,000 June 2, 1998 420
12,500 December 20, 1998 420
15,000 September 29, 1999 280
Note that the rate is tapering off (likely following an exponential
saturation curve).
Here's a breakdown of recipient's reactions to the letter over the last
36 months. All feedback was politely replied to, usually with a version
of the rebuttal arguments given below:
About half of one percent of all recipients strongly objected to it.
Spamming and junk mail seems to have rubbed sensibilities raw with
regard to receiving unsolicited, possibly automatically-sent, E-mail;
also, there's obviously just no pleasing some recipients, including the
one person who angrily replied that he did not ask to be welcomed to
this newsgroup (sigh!). Two others (out of the 15,000 recipients),
accused me of illegal "spam" and threatened to have my account, my ISP,
and possibly my ISP's upstream connection if necessary, "permanently
removed from the Internet." Since this didn't happen, I can only assume
that these threats were disingenuous (Hint: If there truly is a problem,
please let me know about it, but I cannot constructively respond to
misrepresentations, insults, and threats). I choose to endure this
occasional abuse because experiences in other newsgroups demonstrate
such automated welcome messages to be "just barely redeeming" in terms
of dealing with the massive influx of new users.
Another half of one percent thought it was a bit wordy (the message
needs to be "one size fits all" and some recipients might be very
confused without some background explanation; the message attempts to get
to the point as quickly as possible, and some careful pruning and
rewording of the message has helped reduce complaints, but pragmatically
the message is also optimized to minimize the amount of followup
correspondence I have to engage in)
A handful of recipients complained that they did not post to the newsgroup
(they did, usually by following up to a crossposted article in another
newsgroup). In this case, the message was at least useful to warn users
about such unintended crossposting. I note that the number of recipients in
this category has reduced dramatically over the past year (such that I
can't remember the last time I received such a complaint).
A handful of recipients didn't read the entire message, or didn't understand
it, and asked to be taken off the mailing list (of course, this isn't a
mailing list, and removing their address from my database would have
the opposite of the desired effect). One person even asked to be
removed from the database anyway, stating that he never intended to post
to the newsgroup again (I honored his unusual request).
A handful of recipients pointed out that they had been participating on
the newsgroup for many years (It's possible that if you haven't posted
in the last three years, or posted but the article didn't reach my local
news spool, that you could potentially get this new user welcome message
the next time you post. However, you will certainly not get it more
than once.)
About one percent complimented me for sending it (which I appreciate).
The overwhelming majority did not respond, indicating one of several
possibilities:
- they approve of it
- they disapprove, but not enough to bother replying
- the mail was misdelivered (I got a few bounces, often from
deliberately munged From: or Reply-To: addresses to ward off "spam";
I've also recently begun to notice a number of readers registering
with blocking or filtering services provided by DejaNews and others
that prevent them from receiving reply E-mail)
- they don't care
So, my impression is that the project is at least a qualified success,
and should continue in its present form. At the very least, it seems to
be substantially non-controversial. Having primed the previous-poster
database with over 15,000 E-mail addresses, the chances of bothering an
experienced reader with an unneeded introductory message is greatly
reduced, and will get even smaller with time.
I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on this project. I'd also
like to solicit volunteers to initiate similar projects in some of the
special-topic newsgroups (perhaps starting with my previous-poster
database as a baseline, and modifying the message to contain pointers to
the more topic-specific FAQ's and information; the .digital.misc,
.homebrew, .equipment, and .policy newsgroups seem to be good candidates
for a project of this type).
For those who are curious, here is the current version of the message,
slightly modified in response to feedback as the project progressed.
Subject: WELCOME to rec.radio.amateur.misc
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
X-Loop: rec.radio.amate...@oasis.novia.net
Hello,
This E-mail message is automatically sent to every new poster or
cross-poster (as of September 21, 1996) to rec.radio.amateur.misc (and
its associated mailing list, Info-Hams). It should be sent once, and
only once, to each unique E-mail address. As the subject says, this is
a welcome message. The Internet amateur radio community welcomes you to
the newsgroups, including rec.radio.amateur.misc, and welcomes your
input, opinions, and constructive participation. To help make you feel
welcome, experienced participants like myself have chosen to
systematically inform you, as a new poster, about useful information
resources and user tips to help you get the most out of these
newsgroups. I hope that you will consider this message in that spirit.
Please note that this is a one-time mailing, not a mailing list, and the
presence of your E-mail address in my database prevents you from getting
the message again the next time you post. Because of this, a request to
"take me off of your mailing list" would not only not make sense,
removing your address from my database would actually have the opposite
of the desired effect (where you would be considered a first-time poster
the next time you posted, and get the message again).
* * *
1. The news.announce.newusers newsgroup, moderated by Mark Moraes,
contains a number of very informative articles providing an overview of
net-etiquette, suggested writing styles for electronic forums, and other
various do's and don'ts concerning Internet culture. If the articles
have expired at your site, you may also view them via your World-Wide
Web (WWW) browser (such as Netscape, Mosaic, Lynx, or Internet Explorer)
at:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/news/
2. The Amateur Radio Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List, formerly
maintained by Diana Carlson, KC1SP and Ian Kluft, KO6YQ, has recently
been resurrected by John Seney, WD1V. The majority of the original
content of the FAQ remains the same, but now it's a hypertext document
with hundreds of links to radio-related sites and is a significant
resource to all students of amateur radio - regardless of their license
status. It may be accessed as a WWW Page:
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/wd1v/hamradio.faq.html
It is also available in text form. Send an message to John's E-mail
address below with the words "HAM FAQ" on the subject line.
Please direct any submissions, feedback, or administrivia regarding the
FAQ to wd...@amsat.org.
3. The Amateur Radio Elmers Resource Directory is an excellent
supplement to the FAQ as it's a directory of "Elmers" (mentors, experts,
and gurus) for amateur radio who can answer questions via Internet
E-mail and via the various resources (such as special-topic FAQ Lists
and WWW pages) that they maintain. It is accessible both as a WWW page:
http://www.novia.net/~pschleck/elmers/
and as flat text files:
ftp://ftp.novia.net/customers/pschleck/elmers/
Please direct any submissions, feedback, or administrivia regarding the
Amateur Radio Elmers Resource Directory to elmers-...@novia.net.
4. The Guide to the rec.radio Newsgroups, originally written by Jay
Maynard, K5ZC, is now maintained by Jeffrey Herman, WH6U. It provides
an excellent overview of all of the USENET newsgroups devoted to amateur
and CB radio. It may be accessed from:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/radio/personal-intro
5. The rec.radio.swap FAQ: A Guide to Buying and Selling on Usenet,
also originally written by Jay Maynard, K5ZC, is now also maintained by
Jeffrey Herman, WH6U. It contains a number of good pointers for reading
and posting articles concerning the buying and selling of radio and
radio-related equipment on the USENET newsgroup rec.radio.swap (which,
with the sole exception of rec.radio.amateur.boatanchors for vintage
equipment, is the only appropriate forum for such articles). It may be
accessed from:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/radio/swap-guide
Please direct any submissions feedback, or administrivia regarding the
above two resources to jeff...@hawaii.edu.
6. The national amateur radio society of the United States, the
American Radio Relay League, has a presence on the Internet. You may
access their comprehensive and informative home page at:
or their automated file server by sending a message with the word "help"
to:
(They also have information about amateur radio organizations in other
countries.)
7. Read the newsgroup first to see if your question has already been
answered. You may also view, and search for keywords in, older news
articles (going back to March of 1995) at the DejaNews archive:
Many topics have been discussed before, often in great depth, but the
articles have expired from your local news server. Services like
DejaNews allow Usenet a much longer "institutional memory" that can
greatly benefit both new and experienced users.
8. If you do post to the newsgroup, give as many details as possible.
After you post, read the newsgroup for a week or two to see all replies
to your posting. If you wish, ask for responses by E-mail and offer to
post a summary if others are interested in the answer to your question.
Note that it is (almost without exception) inappropriate to post your
article to all (or even a significant subset of) rec.radio.amateur.*
newsgroups. Please pick only the most relevant newsgroups (usually no
more than 2 or 3), and post your article as a simultaneous cross-post
(check your newsreader documentation) so that only one article is
propagated, and the article is only shown once in a newsreader.
9. Remember, USENET newsgroups are based on the idea of mutual aid.
USENET only works if we put as much into it as we get out of it. Good
luck with your experiences with amateur radio and the
amateur-radio-related USENET newsgroups.
73, Paul W. Schleck, K3FU
(Text of article adopted from Tom Boutell, World Wide Web FAQ
Maintainer, with modifications.)
Paul W. Schleck K3FU
> 3. Your actions _clearly_ are in violation of both Internet
>conventions and the TOS of nearly every ISP in business, including your
>own. Here is the relevant restriction extracted _from the Acceptable Use
>Policy published by your own isp_:
I have consulted (on an ongoing basis over the last 3 years) with my
ISP, and their opinion on the matter is that my posting does not violate
their terms of service. You pruned a key sentence from the start of the
policy:
According to http://www.novia.net/acceptable/ (emphasis added),
"It is contrary to the Acceptable Use Policy of Novia for a direct
customer, or for an Internet Service Provider customer to permit any
third party, to use any Novia service, directly or indirectly, for the
purpose of unsolicited mass transmissions or multiple or inappropriate
postings in a manner which, IN NOVIA'S SOLE JUDGEMENT AND DISCRETION,
is abusive, offensive, inappropriate or unacceptable." [...]
Note the words "in Novia's sole judgement and discretion." I have
specific approval to undertake this project because of its redeeming
value and public benefit. Obviously, no written policy can cover all
contingencies, and discretion on the part of the ISP is sometimes
necessary to determine the appropriateness of individual usage on a
case-by-case basis.
It was obvious from the start that I would not be able to obtain total
consensus for this project from the readers of rec.radio.amateur.misc.
There will be a small, inconsolable minority with whom I will have to
agree to disagree. I've asserted this before, and will do so again:
This project operates with 99.5% tacit approval, or at least lack of
expressed disapproval, of the recipients.
0.5% of 15,000 is about 75. The number of negative complaints over the
last 3 years is most certainly bounded by that number (I believe that
it's bounded by 50, and possibly even 35, which would be approximately
one per month). In terms of actual replies sent, positive replies
outnumber negative ones by 2 to 1, possibly even 3 to 1, and I count
messages like, "This is kind of long to read" or "I've been posting to
this newsgroup for 10 years" as negative replies, so they're not all at
the same level of objection.
Furthermore, though such discussion is certainly valuable and welcome,
it's only because I've engaged in full disclosure on this newsgroup as
to my project, its purpose, and implications (both positive and
negative) that we are even having this discussion on the newsgroup at
all. If there was tremendous hue and cry over what I was doing in the
absence of my making periodic updates to the newsgroup, that would be
one thing. Instead, what happens is that I get maybe 1 or 2 complaints
in followup to my update message, and the thread quickly dies within a
few days. Without such updates, this project is essentially invisible.
This project is not SPAM for the following reasons, some of which are
common sense, some of which are legal (based on an informal opinion from
a local lawyer with some expertise in Internet-related law; since this
was just consultation and not a formal client relationship, take with
the appropriate disclaimers).
- It is arguably not SPAM to send a response to a specific post, on a
specific newsgroup, for a specific newsgroup-related reason, and do so
one time to a given user. The automation is merely a means to an end,
and does not, in and of itself, constitute SPAM. When you post to a
newsgroup, you invite a reasonable amount of replies on topics
relevant to that post and that newsgroup.
- The small number of messages sent on a daily basis (usually no more
than 10-15) keeps it under arbitrary definitions of SPAM without
even considering exceptions or discretion (usually 25, as in the Novia
AUP).
- Unlike most all SPAM, the message is from a specific, real originator
who reads and replies to all responses (if you write to me in reply to
the message, I will get your message, will read it with interest, and
will promptly send you a polite, considered reply). I realize that
sending such a message invites replies, and I welcome them.
- The originator's ISP is clearly identified, and has a real address
where you can direct any concerns and likely also receive a polite,
considered reply.
- Inherent in this project is a "do not call" list. You are
automatically put on it the first time you post, but can also be added
to it at any time by writing to psch...@novia.net.
and this one is the most interesting of all (told to me by the lawyer):
- SPAM by most laws and regulations aimed at it, is defined as having
*commercial* content. While I believe that other aspects of the content
and how its presented does affect whether it is abusive or not, in terms
of most laws established to date, my message is arguably not SPAM simply
because it is not commercial in nature.
--
73, Paul W. Schleck, K3FU
psch...@novia.net
http://www.novia.net/~pschleck/ ICQ# 44218003
Finger psch...@novia.net for PGP Public Key
Travis
Pay no attention to that man posing as a professor from JCC. If you'd
like, I can take a little walk down Hatch Road and give him a good swift
kick in the pants. Some socialists like Mr. Adams are so dead-set
against any business profiteering, they'll label ANY unsolicited e-mail
as spam, even your kind welcome messages.
Mr. Adams concern for those poor souls who might have to pay for
unwanted mail, is also a sorry excuse. If they're located in the U.S.,
they always have the option of finding another e-mail server. If they're
foreign and have enough money to be on the internet in the first place,
they're rich enough to afford the few extra pennies for the cost of an
unwanted e-mail.
You just keep goin', boy! One statistic we'll probably never know about,
but I'm sure has probably happened....you're sincere and friendly
welcome message causing someone to take the plunge into amateur radio.
And for that, we thank you K3FU!
A Citizen Patriot reader.....