Help Cut Down on Your Listserv Clutter

Christopher Morris, Councils Web Manager
September 7, 2007 | COMMENTS

We've all seen it. You might even be guilty of it.

Someone posts a question on the listserv requesting information on a subject…and you were just thinking of the same thing! So you fire off a quick email such as “I'd also be interested in this,” “me, too,” or something similar.

Big deal? Not to some I know, but in my short time already at the Councils, I have seen “I get too many emails and too many of them just say ‘thanks' or ‘me, too'” as the number one reason why some individuals unsubscribe from the listserv. And the more people on the listserv, the more opportunities for networking and professional development. Also, emails like this make it harder to search by topic in the listserv archives.

So what we can you do to help? Here are a few tips:

• The most important - Unless otherwise directed, almost all individuals reply to the full listserv with a response to a question, making the "I'm interested as well"-type posts unnecessary.
• Remember that the listserv is set up so when you hit reply it automatically goes to the entire listserv, not just the individual. Many of the emails that just say “thanks for the information” that get sent out are by accident.
• If you are requesting a file, first look for it in the file library. If it's not there, please post a request on the listserv for someone to post it there. The most common instance of inbox clutter is when someone asks for a document to be sent to them and a dozen more people reply with “send it to me as well” or similar. This also saves the person with the document time by not sending it to multiple people and the document is archived for all council members for future reference. (Note that if you don't feel comfortable posting a document because of proprietary concerns or any other reason, simply post to the listserv that you have a document to share and request that individuals contact you directly if they want a copy.)

As a general rule, before you automatically reply to a listserv message, take a moment to think about whether your response should be directed to the entire list or just to the individual who originally posted the message. And keep it relevant and professional.

We all get hundreds of emails (and that doesn't even include all the stock and Viagra solicitations or Nigerian email scams). Please do your part to keep your fellow member's inboxes slim and trim.

If you ever have any questions or comments let me know and thanks for your support. Any ideas you have to improve the listserv, I'd appreciate those too.

For full listserv guidelines and other helpful information, visit:

http://www.cunatechnologycouncil.org/member_ctc/listhelp.html

*Feel like you are getting too many messages? You can either change your account settings to the "daily digest," which is one email e a day that compiles all of that day's messages or set your account to "no email" and use the web-based listserv exclusively. More information on how to change your settings (and more!) can be found at the link above or at any time at your council site under Listserv > Help and Getting Started.