To
all ROSEN listmembers,
In
the interest of offering the easiest access to the ROSEN list,
I initially set up the list to allow anyone to sign up via an "open"
subscription process which requires no intervention or approval on my
part.
It
has been heartening to see the number of list members growing, but at
the same time, I want to make sure that those who are subscribed are
those who continue to be genuinely interested. It is not enough to
simply have many subscribers if the posts are not being read or taken
seriously. Also, since the total number of subscribers affects the cost
of the list and since I pay for this list personally, I would prefer to
keep unwanted subscriptions to a minimum.
But I
do not want to "close" the subscription process, and I am actually more
concerned about those who initially subscribe, but who's interest later
wanes or they become too busy to deal with the list, etc., but who
don't bother to unsubscribe.
What
I am going to try is to enable a feature called "RENEWAL" in the
listserver. What this will do is send out
automated email renewal requests to subscribers after some period of
inactivity (I will initially set it to 3 months). The
subscriber will simply have to follow the instructions in the email to
CONFIRM their renewal. Again, this is all automated and will not
require my intervention or approval. If they fail to confirm within a
delay period (I will initially set it to 14 days),
their subscription will lapse.
Note
that every time a subscribers posts, the timer for their "inactivity
period" will be reset. So, those who post on at least occasional
intervals will automatically gain a reprieve from being asked for any
renewals.
If
you want to remain subscribed but for some reason fail to CONFIRM a
RENEWAL request, you will still be able to re-subscribe, so there are
no cataclysmic consequences. But those who are not really interested in
the list, do not read the posts, and simply do not bother to
unsubscribe, will be unsubscribed automatically by this process.
To
summarize:
- Automated
RENEWAL emails will go to subscribers who have not posted in 3
months.
- The
subscriber will have 14 days to CONFIRM the RENEWAL.
- If
the subscriber fails to CONFIRM, they will be unsubscribed.
- Every
time a subscriber posts, their 3-month inactivity timer is
automatically reset to begin as of the date of that post.
So,
if a subscriber wishes to simply "lurk" and not post, they are still
welcome to do so; all they need to do is CONFIRM their subscription per
the occasional automated RENEWAL email. I am not trying to dissuade
those who are simply interested in reading the posts, or who
feel uneasy about posting, from remaining subscribed. With a 3-month
inactivity timer, this will only mean 4 renewals a year at most.
Also,
if someone knows they are going to be away from the list for some time
(extended vacation, sabbatical, etc.), they could set their account to
NOMAIL in their personal options, or notify me directly if they want to
remain subscribed but expect to be away for more than 3 months.
Again, in the worst case, if a subscriber gets accidentally
unsubscribed, they can still resubscribe later on.
The
result should be that we will have a better idea of the actual interest
level of those who remain subscribed. And, hopefully, more subscribers
will take advantage of the automatic reprieve from renewals which
posting occasionally to the list will provide. :)
When
I enable this feature this afternoon, some of you may possibly receive
RENEWAL notices right away if you have been subscribed for 3+ months
and have not posted. Go ahead and simply CONFIRM those renewals
(assuming you want to remain subscribed), and everything should be
fine. (As with all automated features, this one "should" work fine.
Email me directly (***)
if you encounter any problems.)
Regards,
Tim