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Cu Digest, #7.92

Most of you have by now received the UIUC note that they are
reorganizing their computer services and shifting their listserv
from one system to another in January.  UIUC has been generous with
their resources in allowing CuD to use their listserv. We are most
appreciative.

It has been, and continues to be, my understanding that they will
continue to provide the outlet for the mailing list.  If, for some
reason, UIUC can no longer provide resources, we will make
arrangements to minimize disruption to readers.

We are very, very, appreciative for the many offers from readers who
have offered assistance. There are too many of you to thank
individually, but it is re-assuring to know that so many of you are
willing to help. That means a lot.

There is, however, a deeper issue that the UIUC transition is making
us face. At the most conservative estimate, CuD has several hundred
thousand readers. Less than one percent are on the mailing list. The
rest obtain CuD from Usenet, the various ftp/www sites, public
access systems, fidonet, and feeds.  The logistics of dealing with
bounces, unsubs, and other stuff (we no longer do manual subs) is
becoming a horrendous time burden that has, sadly, begun
interferring with other duties.  I recognize that a mailing list is
the only way that many have of receiving CuD. But, it would be
useful if the list could be pared down from the current 6,000+ to
under 1,000, which was the optimal manageable number.

In the past, CuD readers have been helpful and providing useful
suggestions, and perhaps readers' collective thinking can come up
with some ideas to reduce work load while not disrupting mail
service.

One suggestion was to begin the mailing list anew by deleting
everybody and requiring re-subscriptions. Another was to scrap
the list entirely. We considered this a few years ago, but the
outcry was immediate and firm: "DON'T!"

Any suggestions??

Thanks again for the many, many posts of support.

Jim