Subject Line Etiquette

[Guest guest]

Hi folks,

I just wanted to point out that for me, and very likely most other

people, subject lines are most useful when they reflect the topic

matter of the posts. So, obviously, if the subject changes it is best

to change the subject line (with a few posts retaining the old line

during the transition so people recognize the thread.)

But, more importantly, subject lines should be related in the first

place. So, for example, " Hey check this out! " is not very helpful.

And for the person who wrote it, it's likely they'd get less people

reading it and less a chance of a response if they don't clearly

indicate the subject. I'm more likely to click on a subject line that

says the name of a book, for example, than says, " Check out this

book. "

It really isn't helpful for a subject line to just say the person the

post is to (it is a public list, so really it's for everyone)

*especially* if it branches off into sub-topics. So, " reply to

so-and-so " makes things more difficult, and it tops it off when there

are 10 responses which down the line end up being a discussion of a

different topic between people not named in the subject line.

I use GMail, so each subject line is presented as one email in my

inbox, and then when I open it, it streams down the thread. So, while

not everyone uses GMail... I'm sure a lot of other people are clicking

on something like " organize by subject line " so they can keep the

threads together for easy reading. Changing the subject line when it

*doesn't* need to be changed really disrupts the ability to organize

by subject line, because it makes one thread into a bunch of different

emails with unrelated subject lines.

I'm not trying to preach, I'm just throwing that out there because I

assume a lot of other people reading also find the same thing. I'm

not going to tell anyone how to do their subject lines, but I do want

people to know what's most helpful.

Chris

[Guest guest]

>

>I just wanted to point out that for me, and very likely most other

>people, subject lines are most useful when they reflect the topic

>matter of the posts. So, obviously, if the subject changes it is best

>to change the subject line (with a few posts retaining the old line

>during the transition so people recognize the thread.)

>

>

Yes, this is a good point, but sometimes lately, folks have been

rampantly changing subject lines, often adding in someone's name to the

mix. Now while this may bode well in a small group, we are over a

thousand, and it just can get confusing when it changes post to post.

>But, more importantly, subject lines should be related in the first

>place. So, for example, " Hey check this out! " is not very helpful.

>

>

>

No kidding! Please let's try and use topics of the post in the subject

line. For a book recommendation, the title would suffice.

>It really isn't helpful for a subject line to just say the person the

>post is to (it is a public list, so really it's for everyone)

>*especially* if it branches off into sub-topics. So, " reply to

>so-and-so " makes things more difficult,

>

>

Yes, like I said about this not being a small group, the naming in

subjects is not very useful usually. And then some folks like the

's aren't always caught up to date. So they reply to a subject

like " Second insult to Gayle " and we've all long forgotten what it was

all about. Unless it is the entire point of the post, like the " Chris

Masterjohn is Sexy! " topic was, then it is just plain annoying.

>I use GMail, so each subject line is presented as one email in my

>inbox, and then when I open it, it streams down the thread. So, while

>not everyone uses GMail...

>

>

I'm not using GMail, and I STILL think it's a pain to have post written

to *whom* rather than about *what*!

>I'm not trying to preach, I'm just throwing that out there because I

>assume a lot of other people reading also find the same thing. I'm

>not going to tell anyone how to do their subject lines, but I do want

>people to know what's most helpful.

>

>Chris

>

You're not preaching, you're complaining. And I second everything

you've noted. I think if we just ignored these posts, much like we

ignore people who leave " Digest #6723866 " in the subject line, then the

problem will go away.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

--- Deanna Wagner <hl@...> wrote:

> Yes, like I said about this not being a small group,

> the naming in

> subjects is not very useful usually. And then some

> folks like the

> 's aren't always caught up to date.

LOL! What a gracious understatement!!!! At least

regarding this :-)

take care,

" In The Abolition of Man, C.S.

observed that the modern schoolboy

is conditioned to take one side in

a controversy which he has not learned

to recognize as a controversy at all.

That is, he is trained to assume a

materialist and Darwinian outlook,

without realizing that materialism and

Darwinism have been subject to thoughtful

criticisms from their first appearance. "

Joe Sobran

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

On 7/13/05, Deanna Wagner <hl@...> wrote:

> Yes, this is a good point, but sometimes lately, folks have been

> rampantly changing subject lines, often adding in someone's name to the

> mix. Now while this may bode well in a small group, we are over a

> thousand, and it just can get confusing when it changes post to post.

Absolutely! That was a point I actually meant to include. The

changing of subject lines should be done judiciously. They should

always be changed *when needed* and kept the same when *not needed.*

I think that with an individual post system like most email clients

have, keeping the initial line at the beginning and adding a word at

the end to specify a sub-thread at the end is helpful, but personally

for GMail it's counterproductive, because it divorces the subthread

from the rest of the thread.

Chris

[Guest guest]

>LOL! What a gracious understatement!!!! At least

>regarding this :-)

>

>take care,

>

>

Welcome back to cyberspace, . Now, um, do like we said and

change the subject line of your Orthodox food discussion! I find it on

topic and not in the least political ... yet. But it ain't got nothin'

to do with Heidi, lol.

Peace,

Deanna