[Histonet] The subject line in Histonet emails.

[John Kiernan]

Well said, Gayle!

The subject line is the MOST IMPORTANT PART of any
email. (No apology for shouting this in capital letters)

If you're asking a question it's worth thinking hard
about those 7 or 8 words that indicate what the question
is about. Recent good Histonet examples are:
   oxalate crystals
   removal of carbohydrates/glycosylation
 
For answering a question, it's fine to "reply to all."
The subject line will then be:
   Re: removal of carbohydrates/glycosylation
       (Did anyone answer this? A fascinating
        question, and I'd also like to know the
        answer. Biochemists must have been doing
        this for decades.)
       [This comment is an example of something that's
        not covered by the subject line, so I don't
        expect an answer. It's an example of what not
        to do.]
 
Often, with replies to replies to replies, the true
subject becomes completely different from that of
the original email. If you write something that
changes the subject, change the subject line too,
so that we'll all know what the message is about.
A useful trick has the form:
    Polar micro also for amyloid (Was Re: oxalate ...)
 
This might help someone else looking at renal
pathology, without entirely losing track of the
thread of how to examine for crystals.
 
Our beloved listserver now adds [Histonet] to the
front end of every subject line. This increases
the need for brevity.
 
Gayle's message that prompted this one is quoted
 below. It showed up in the summary list as
   [Histonet] People who receive ...
A longer line (but garbled and uninformative)
appeared when my mouse cursor paused over the item.
Brief subject lines are a must. End of rant.
 
 John Kiernan
 London, Canada
 ___________________________
Gayle Callis wrote:
> Subject: [Histonet] People who receive and send replies to
>          Histonet Digest so we see RE: Histonet Digest
>
> Dear all who receive Histonet Digest,
>
> Don't send a reply to Histonet Digest - please.  It kicks
  back all the
> messages to those who do not use the digest format,
  something they may not
> want to get again and again.  Some of us tend to delete
  RE: Histonet Digest
> since there is nothing specific in the subject line.
> 
> Send your answers to:   Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu.
  AND use the
> subject line with specific information to alert others you
  have commentary,
> answers to questions,  or inquiries.
> This way all those who do not using digest format are not
  overloaded with
> unneeded unwanted ton of daily messages.
> 
> Thanks, folks
>
> Gayle Callis
> MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
> Research Histopathology Supervisor
> Veterinary Molecular Biology
> Montana State University - Bozeman
> PO Box 173610
> Bozeman MT 59717-3610
> 406 994-6367 (lab with voice mail)
> 406 994-4303 (FAX)
> ----------------------------------------------