Using the SAAUC Google Groups list
SAAUC communicates with members through a Google Groups mailing list. The list is used for notices of meetings and other announcements, and members can pose questions, comment, or supply an answer to a query. All current members with an e-mail address are subscribed to the list.
You can receive messages from the list as individual messages, or as a digest.
Individual messages are easier to scan by subject, and can be read, saved for future reference or deleted. Some people find replying to individual messages easier (see below).
A digest has the day’s messages combined, with the subjects listed near the top. The number of messages you receive each day will be reduced to one, but some people find them more awkward to deal with. They can be saved for future reference, but finding individual topics is more difficult.
You can also arrange to receive no messages for a period, when you will be away for example.
If you want to change your settings, please ask through 
.
Contributing to the list
‘Netiquette’ is the word to describe how one behaves on the Internet, especially when it comes to using lists. Adam Engst puts it this way in ‘Mailing list manners 101’:
‘How you write in e-mail—especially in public places like mailing lists—affects how other people regard you, your opinions, and your knowledge. Think of it this way: if mailing list messages were a reflection of personal hygiene, you don’t want to come across to others like you need a shower, clean clothes, and a haircut.’
So that you don’t put your foot in it, a few guidelines:
- Always use meaningful subject lines, which describe your question or comment succinctly. When you reply to a message on the list, make sure you use the message’s own subject line (copy and paste it). A subject line like ‘24 new messages in 7 topics - digest’ is not very helpful
- Delete everything unnecessary. There’s usually no point in quoting whole messages, certainly not when they have already been quoted by previous respondents. Sig blocks and the stuff that Google Groups puts at the end (‘You received this message...’) definitely go. Be ruthless
- Do try to use the correct terminology: everything in computing has a name, often with a very precise meaning: ‘disk’ and ‘disc’ are different, as are ‘load’ and ‘install’, and so on. If you are unsure, look things up first to avoid confusion all round
- Please use correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, etc. Put a blank line between paragraphs, and angle brackets around URLs: <saauc.org.au>
- If you are seeking help to solve a problem, make sure you give details of the machine and its configuration, the OS and its version, and the software and its version. Use System Profiler (About this Mac in the Apple menu) to find much of this info
- If you want to respond to offers to buy and sell, respond directly to the sender of the message, not to the list. The rest of us don’t want to know you want an S0200187
- Please do not send attachments to the list (they are deleted from digests anyway)
Replying to the list
To reply to an individual message, follow the usual reply procedures. The subject will remain, prefixed by ‘Re: ’. Delete any part of the message that is not relevant.
(One way to retain only the needed text in a message is to select it, then to hit Command-R, or whatever the reply command is in your mail program. Any text not highlighted will be omitted from your reply.)
Replying to a message in a digest requires not only deleting all the irrelevant text but making sure that the subject is retained. You will need to copy the subject from the message within the digest to your reply.
Replying to the digest: select the desired text
The reply has only the selected text, plus the heading line and sig
Select and copy the subject
Paste the subject into the Subject line, add your own text to the message, check thoroughly, and send
