[Strawbale] Would you be willing to help me test new email list software?

[RT]

Erin;

Thanks for keeping the "original" SB list going and whatever you need to  
do with the software is fine with me.

The "other" SB list (SB-r-Us at yahoogroups.com) was created because of a  
blackout period when the REPP list was switching software ( or owners or  
servers or (??)) and left the subscribers to the then-very-active-list, in  
the lurch, with no inkling as to why.

When the REPP list got back up and running it was suggested to the  
membership of the the Yahoogroup that the REPP SB list be kept as the  
primary means of connecting to the SB community with the Yahoogroup  
serving as a back-up (for the times when the REPP list was down) and for  
its file-sharing capabilities (ie images and other file attachments ) and  
to a lesser extent, where off-topic subjects which might get SB-only  
"purists" knickers in a knot, could be shared. (It was suggested that the  
Yahoogroup be terminated once the REPP list was back but the membership  
chose to keep it going.)

Also, the Global SBN list was created by Wild Bill-bob Christensen as a  
forum for "professionals" and other "local" lists (ie Okies, Ontario,  
California, European, + others which I can't name at the moment) lists  
were also created, further peeling off members into SB-related groups that  
did not talk to each other unless messages were intentionally cross-posted  
and I think that that splintering-off was detrimental.

I mention this as a long-winded response to Sherwood's suggestion that  
perhaps the REPP/Bioenergylists switch over to Google Groups.

The traffic on all of the SB lists has dropped off significantly in the  
past few years to the point that all of the traffic on all of the lists  
combined is less in one month than there used to be in one day when the  
REPP or SB-r-Us list were in their heyday.

If the point of these lists is for the SB community to keep in touch, then  
I would venture that maybe it'd be a Good Thing to re-merge all of the  
lists back into one.  It seems that SBers aren't as yakkety as they used  
to be so the traffic volume from a combined list shouldn't be so onerous  
as to overload anyone's capacity to manage.

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom					AOD257
Kanata, Ontario, Canada

< A r c h i L o g i c  at  Y a h o o  dot  c a  >
(manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply")
On Wed, 26 Feb 2014 19:43:09 -0500, Erin Rasmussen <erin at trmiles.com>  
wrote:

> Hello members of the Strawbale Buildings email conversation, this is your
> technical person, Erin Rasmussen erin at trmiles.com who  been in the
> background helping to run the list for the past few years.  When the
> Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP.org) could no longer support the  
> list, we volunteered and have been trying to keep things humming along  
> in the back
> ground.
>
>
> So we've got 2 big things coming up for the list - and I'm hoping that  
> you  won't mind me testing new mailing list software that will hopefully  
> allow me  to address both of them.
>
>  -> First, we've got to switch to email software that supports a
> double-opt-in method of sign up. This is required by international law,  
> and
> since we've got the good fortune to have international participation, we
> should be complying with it too.
>
>
> ->  Second, I'd like try a better spam filter on the list. Currently  
> there
> are many messages that you don't see that I manage to remove before you
> read. I'd like to use some newer tools and see if I can't automate some  
> of
> that message filtering.
>
>
> So to that end, I'd like to switch us from Mailman, our current  
> software, to
> Dada Mail (with Spam Assassin and Box Trapper to cut down on Spam).   The
> process would be simple. I'd set up the new list, and send out  
> invitations
> to you. When you click on the link to accept email from the new list,  
> you'll
> get the new messages.
>
>
> So - what do you think? I'd like to have a conversation about it before I
> make any changes, but I'll need to make changes fairly soon, so I'd
> appreciate your feedback either in reply to this message or in email sent
> directly to me erin at trmiles.com
>
>
> Thanks for your attention,
>
>  Erin Rasmussen
>
> TR Miles Technical Consultants Inc.   http://www.trmiles.com/
>
> and BioEnergy Discussion Lists   http://www.bioenergylists.org/
>
> erin at trmiles.com
>
>
> T.R. Miles Technical Consultants Inc.
> 1470 SW Woodward Way
> Portland, OR, USA 97225
>
==========================
On Wed, 26 Feb 2014 21:57:11 -0500, Sherwood Botsford  
<sgbotsford at gmail.com> wrote:

> Two thoughts:
>
> 1.  If you are switching anyway, consider moving to a gmail group with
> email distribution.  Gmail's anti-spam is pretty good.
>
> 2.  There is another strawbale group on yahoo.  Many members are in both.
> But also some posts go to both lists which mean that some people get  
> stuff  twice.  Is there merit in merging the two lists?