[Businessmtg] List Administrator Report - Jan., 2019

[List Administrator]

List Administrator Report - Jan., 2019

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    I thought I'd start this new year off with a mention of some ongoing
problems ASP's members and administrators face which are seemingly
unsolvable. Most are small things which are inconveniences and sometimes
irritating. However, in this online environment and with so many new
members joining each day they keep reoccurring: 

    The primary one is undoubtedly members using "Reply All" functions
to send their emails to the group instead of using ASP's proper address,
asp at asp-afg.org. Every day, twice a day, as List Administrator I receive
notices of bounced emails because of "too many recipients." Each has to
be processed individually, either accepting them for posting, or
rejecting them because of the improper addressing. Nobody likes
rejection even when they've not followed ASP's instructions for sharing.
Unfortunately I can not spend the time it takes to educate each member
individually so I've a standard text I use to accompany rejections to
Reply All bounces: 

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Hi [Name], 
It appears that you posted this share using Reply All or used more than
one address. Our server does not accept either Reply All or multiple
email addresses. 
~ If this email was intended for the entire group please resend it to
asp at asp-afg.org only with no other addresses and with all others'
messages deleted. Do not use Reply All. 
~ If this is a personal message, please resend it to the intended
addressee only, not to the entire group. 
In service.
Jerry H., ASP List Administrator
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    If anybody can offer improvements to this copy I'll happily consider
your suggestions (send to la at asp-afg.org). To be honest it doesn't seem
that any of the many past efforts which have been tried have done much
to stem this continuing problem; there is always an influx of new
members who haven't completely familiarized themselves with ASP's Member
Instructions so the problem simply continues. 

    Another aspect of this Reply All problem is that, from what I can
tell anyway, it contributes to threading multiple emails together - at
least on some devices. For instance, on my Kindle I very often receive a
dozen or more topic shares all grouped together while others come
through individually; on my laptop each of these same shares  arrives
separately. No Kindle setting on my end solves this. Sometimes the topic
lead share is lost in the shuffle - another consequence. I suspect that
members who use their phones to get and send emails have this same
problem. 

    Something else I find regularly: members asking me as List
Administrator to fix perceived problems which can only be fixed on their
end. Each member has their own device(s) and carrier and I'm not able to
be familiar with all the variations on how to help each member solve
their setup problems. Many of these result from members not knowing
their own equipment and settings or understanding how their carrier
processes their emails. Add to this the many who elect to ask me to
unsubscribe them form our list rather than follow ASP's process which
lets them know how to do this on their own. 

    Almost always these exchanges begin with the assumption that ASP has
a problem which needs fixed. ASP is, as are so many of us, powerless
over the choices and actions of others :-). 

    All in all a number of these sorts of small things add up to many
hours a month for me as LA. To this I have to add that without the
Business Meeting providing a volunteer for service as Secretary I have
the duties of the Secretary added to my "to do" list. As a retired
person it may seem that I have all the time in the world for this, but I
don't always have the loving will to attend to every detail. I trust
this Business Meeting to provide the Trusted Servants necessary to run
ASP as its own Group Conscience requires.   

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A quick refresher on how Business Meeting Agendas are created. 

Any member can suggest a BM agenda item by sending a note to any member
of the Steering Committee - or preferably directly to the SC at
steering_committee at asp-afg.org. The Steering Committee takes these
suggestions into consideration along with all the other topics it
determines need addressing. Topics are then prioritized and presented to
the Business Meeting chair for each Business Meeting. Suggesting a topic
does not assure that the submitted topic will be addressed at the next
Business Meeting; the very nature of  doing business on-line limits how
many topics can be effectively addressed in any given month. At times
the Steering Committee may need some time to discuss a particular
suggestion before considering it as a BM agenda item. Additions to the
BM Agenda are not entertained during the Business Meeting itself. 

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ASP, I should note, is humming right along in most respects. Growing
constantly as the Greeter Chair's report notes. Great topics and member
growth. Our BM Agenda this month covers two very important discussions:
one, the archiving of member shares, is a continuation from our last BM;
the other, how to provide newcomer packets as our existing Group
Conscience requires. I look forward to our discussions as we make
headway on these two items. Please remember that we discuss one topic at
a time. The Trusted Servant Reports will, I hope, be posted by today or
tomorrow and I'll announce the beginning of our discussion of the first
agenda item Friday morning. 

In service, 
Jerry H., acting BM Chair 
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 In loving service, 

 Jerry H., ASP List Administrator 

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