Filters?

[Michael Simpson]

12 January 1995

  Regarding Jim Beach's suggesting for some sort of filter for Taxacom
messages, I feel that occasional "subcribe/unsubscribe" messages are not the
big problem.  More useful would be subject categories that we could all choose
from.  E.g., I am a plant systematist and am not interested in meetings, job
advertisements, or queries from malacologists or entomologists, etc., unless
they are of a general nature.

  This is not so trivial.  I am tempted every now and then to unsubscribe from
Taxacom (and some other listserves) because of the time spent sorting through
numerous messages (once I received over 30 total from various sources in one
day).  I haven't done so yet, but I know of colleagues who have unsubscribed
for this very reason.  The problem will only multiply with more listserves
coming on line.

  So, my suggestion is that a subscriber have the option of signing up for a
set of subject categories and that messages be directed to these only.  Has
this been attempted before?  (My understanding of the Taxacom database on the
WW Web is that messages are sorted after the fact in some very specific subject
categories.)

-Mike Simpson

________________________________________________________________
Michael G. Simpson            office: LS 268   lab: LS 266
Department of Biology         voice: 619-594-4479
San Diego State University    fax: 619-594-5676
San Diego, CA   92182-0057    email: msimpson at sunstroke.sdsu.edu
________________________________________________________________