[plug] Dealing with cluelessness.

[The Thought Assassin]

I can't keep track of all the subthreads any more, so I'm starting my own.

The problem: unsubscribe attempts going to the list, not the listbot.
The solution: Send new subscribers an email explaining unsubscription.

This works on 90% of cases.

The problem: Idiots not reading the instructions they have been sent.
The solution: ???
Suggestions so far:

1: Send the instructions again.
Problem: These people don't read instructions. It doesn't matter if they
are sent at the end of every message, at the end of some messages, or not
at all. We are dealing with people who do not read instructions in the
first place, so placing instructions somewhere they shouldn't even expect
instructions to be is a waste of bandwidth.

2: Change the instructions to meet the idiot's interpretation.
Problem: Like spam or porn filtering, you can't distinguish automatically
with any accuracy. You either fail to unsubscribe people who attempt it
wrongly (you can never anticipate the actions of idiots) or you manage to
unsubscribe people who do not wish to be unsubscribed, but haven't kept up
with the exact logic of the unsubscription filters. Usually, you have both
problems. The list is here to service its subscribers, not its attempted
unsubscribers, so the acceptable level of filtering is none at all.

3: Change the idiots.
Problem: How do you determine who is an idiot and who is not with a simple
test? Someone might prove capable of reading when given such a test, but
then choose not to read at future times, through laziness of ignorance. I
think this would have a small positive effect on our subscribership, but a
large negative effect on external perception of us.

What are we left with?
I can see merits in combining all of the above methods to varying degrees,
but hopefully in ways to limit the negatives mentioned.

Combining the first two approaches, how about a (conservative!) filter for
that results in sending the instructions again? Only this time, the
message is: "you have sent an email that looks like an unsubscribe
request. It was _not_ broadcast the list. Follow instruction X to
unsubscribe. Follow instruction Y to send your message to the list
anyway." Obviously, this should involve strong anti-looping logic. :)
Is this a good idea? It might potentially annoy list members who expect
in-band text to stay in-band, (do we allow them to set an option to
switch the filter off for their mail?) and will possibly create more work
for the poor overworked underpaid list-admin. What do we think?

The way to modify the third method is to accept that a computer cannot
detect an idiot. We, on the other hand, can - since we define the term
"idiot" ourselves. :) When someone posts on the list in a manner that
implies an inability or unwillingness to read instructions, we must make
it clear to them that their behaviour is limiting the benefits of the list
for themselves and others. Point them in the direction of documentation,
if they don't know where it is. Explain what the docs mean when they are
obscure, and how they apply to the problem at hand. Ignore their pleas for
free tech support - this forum is for sharing the experiences of fellow
users, not for avoiding learning about your system - there are people whom
you can pay to do that. This is of course a generalisation; there are
many times when a question could be answered with an RTFM, but could be
answered better and more accurately with the wisdom of experience that a
list member might have. Where do we draw the line? Should we have a line?
Should we have guidelines in the FAQ? Should we just have an
understanding, as we (sort of) do now? Am I advocating an elitist police
state? Should we sign an extradition treaty with the PWUG, or just exile
offenders to /dev/null? Should I stop writing email and get back to work?
Answers in 12 words or less, on my desktop tomorrow morning, thanks.

-Greg Mildenhall