How to set digest or other mail options

(Please note that since this page was first written, Memlist has been given official status in the society, so the "Alt" part of the name has been dropped. The screen images below have not been altered to reflect this, but it makes no other difference to these instructions.)

1. log in to the group - http://groups.google.com/group/nzsg-memlist?hl=en (if you haven't created a log-in see Accessing the group archive)
2. click on the link down the right hand side "Edit my membership"

1. select the option you prefer:
   1. no email (you get no emails at all, but can still check the web archive)
   2. abridged email (a summary of posts, shorter than the digest)
   3. digest email (all the posts since the last digest in one email)
   4. email (you get each post as it's submitted)
2. while you're there, take a look at the box "What nickname do you want people in this group to see?" and change what's in the box if you want something different to what is showing - as far as I can tell, this affects the membership list on the web, not your own posts as they're mailed out to everyone.
3. click on the "Save these settings" button to save the changes you've just made.

Before you go and set yourself to digest, you may like to take a moment to consider other options, using the tools available to you. They could make your list experience better and more pleasant than the digest.

Personally, I loathe digests. I know they have their place, but I prefer my method. And this comes to you from someone who is subscribed to 60-odd lists at Rootsweb alone, never mind other genealogy forums and lists for other topics!

I use a rule or filter (the name used depends on the service/program you're using) to pick out list mail as it comes in, and divert it to its own folder. This keeps the list away from mail that is addressed to me personally, so I can focus on the list when I'm ready to - and until that time it's out of the way and I can ignore it. Some lists I subscribe to (the busier ones or that have a particular importance to me) have their own folder, and I combine some quiet lists into one folder together.

How do you set a rule or filter? That depends on the mail service you're using. I wrote some instructions many years ago for a list I've assisted with for more than 10 years now, and put them on my web site - http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wendyh65/How-to.htm#RuleFilter Even though it's for a different list, the principles are the same - list mail is sent to the list, so substitute this list's email address (you'll find it in the header above) for the one in the instructions to make it work for you. Even if you don't use one of the programs/services I've given instructions for, they will give you an idea of what's going on, and you can check your service/program's Help files for the finer details of implementing it on your own computer.

Wendy Howard

NZSG Forum Administrator