Wesley,

(I decided to post to the list because the concern of Wesley may be broader that just
that of one individual. I also want to make a public acknowledgment of the quality of
the list.)

Since you are new to the list, I suggest you give it some time. Yes the traffic is
very heavy. However, the knowledge base is enormous. The generosity of individuals
and their willingness to answer questions (some many times over as new people come to
the list) is remarkable. Then there is the fellowship and the playfulness that goes
along with that. To this must be added the selflessness and skill of Jeff Kell and
Joe Geiser who, as volunteers without pay, administer the list and the news gateway.
The fact that we do not perceive their efforts is proof of how effective their
efforts are. We are in their debt -- big time.

Back to your comments:

If you are getting single posts, you can pretty well review your mail and delete
posts by subjects that are of no interest as has been pointed out by others. I find
that most people are very careful about subject lines compared to other lists to
which I subscribe. Perhaps you are unable to identify which mail is from the
HP3000-L. That's easy to fix. Send e-mail to the listserv. In the body of the
message, type:

     set subjecthdr

This will insert "[HP3000-L]" (without the quotes) in front of every subject line.
For example:

       [HP3000-L] lastest technology

If you are getting digests, you can look at the index at the top of the digest, and
use the find/search facility to read only those posts of interest.

It's possible to switch from digest to nodigest easily and frequently. When I
remember to do so, before the weekend, I switch to digest so that I will not have 200
e-mail messages on Monday morning, and then I switch back to nodigest on Monday. The
same approach can be used at other times, e. g. when you are especially busy. Another
example: a person receiving digest format poses a question. Switch to nodigest so
that any replies will come immediately, and a day or two later switch back.

Stick with us for a while, Wesley.

========================
Leonard S. Berkowitz
mailto:[log in to unmask]
phone: (617) 972-9400 ext. 3250
fax:   (617) 923-5555