RE: APD format

[matt jarsky <studio at cheapo_cc>]

Chris wrote:
I will probably have this ready early next week. If you are interested
in testing it out, or you want the source code (requiring a web server
with PERL or PHP to use), email me privately, and I will let you know of
the link when it is ready for testing.

Chris, your PHP parser sounds fantastic. I have PHP-enabled hosting and
would be most eager to try it out.

Cynthia Powers wrote: 
Y'all can vote until hell freezes over; the APD will not be going to an 
individual-email format. :)  The error handling on a list this size is a

big mess in the digest format; it would be a nightmare if we went to 
individual emails.

I just re-read my first post on this subject
(http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200305/msg00180.html) and I
can see why you might feel a bit peevish. I neglected to say that I am
grateful for the creation and maintenance of this list. I value it as a
resource and I find that those who write here do so respectfully,
intelligently and with enthusiasm. So, Cynthia, I am grateful for your
efforts and sympathetic regarding the difficulties of running this list.
I have never managed such an enterprise, so my knowledge of the
day-to-day challenges presented by such an undertaking is, at best,
sketchy. 

However, I do have a firm grip on the user experience side of the
equation. I haven't been on hundreds of other listservs, but I have been
on about 10, and every one was available in both the digest and
non-digest formats, so, somehow, these other lists are living this
"nightmare" you describe. And they're doing just fine. How can this be?
-- Is it that the individuals running these other lists have far more
time on their hands? Are they more dedicated? -- to both these
suggestions I respond: "Unlikely" -- I am certain that those involved in
the maintenance of this list are passionate about this undertaking. So,
to me at least, the reason the APD is available only in the restrictive
digest format remains a mystery. (To clarify, I am suggesting that the
APD be available in both digest and non-digest format. I am not
proposing to switch from one to the other.)

I have written to the administrator of another large listserv of which I
am a member asking a few questions about how that list
(http://music.hyperreal.org/lists/idm/) operates. I hope I'll get an
informative response from him, because I think some assurance from
someone qualified to comment on the technical side of this matter might
reassure this list's administrators (whom I believe are also qualified)
that a non-digest APD is a perfectly reasonable option.

Peace,
Matt Jarsky