[Nfb-krafters-korner] Subject Lines & Topics of Discussion

[Annette Carr]

Hi All,

 

It is so wonderful to see all of the great discussions happening here on
Krafter's Korner.  These discussions are what makes Krafter's Korner the
incredible place that we have all come to love.  

 

Please be sure that the subject line of the message you are about to post to
the list reflects the topic of what you are talking about in that message.
I know how easy it is for all of us to get excited about something that
someone said that triggers a related idea.  It is so fast and easy to
respond by using the reply button/command, type up our response and send it
off without a second glance at the subject line.  

 

There are many reasons to keep the subject line reflective of the topic of
the message.  They include:

 

.         Makes it easier to find information in our archived messages.  By
being able to easily and quickly search the archived messages can helps
reduce the number of messages you choose to save on your personal computer
or portable device.  Plus when someone asks a question that has been asked
in the past, rather than creating a response from scratch, the original
response can be located in the archives, copied, pasted, edited as needed
and used as the response to the requestor. 

.         Makes it easier for visitors to our website to browse past list
conversations and see that Krafter's Korner has something to offer all
crafters.

.          For list members who receive a lot of messages in their inbox
every day and those who do not have a lot of time to read e-mail, a good
subject line that accurately reflects the content of the message can be a
time saver.  If the member is not interested in a particular type of craft,
when they see a message with a subject line that mentions that craft, the
member can hit delete and quickly move on to a message that they are
interested in.

 

If you are not going to start a message from scratch, and choose to use the
reply method, here are some tips if what you want to say is totally
unrelated to the previous messages in the chain.  

 

.         Select and delete the entire contents of the current subject line
and enter in the new subject line.

.         Once in the body of the message, use the select all command
specific to your e-mail program and select the entire contents of the body
of the message.  Now hit your delete key and you are ready to write on a
clean slate.

 

If you are finding that the conversation is drifting away from the original
topic, but is still related, edit the subject line.  You might consider one
of the following techniques to accomplish this.

 

.         Example 1:

o   Original subject line reads:  Upcoming Afghan Loom Class

o   Modified subject line to reflect your question about making mittens on a
loom, the subject line might read:  Making mittens on a loom - WAS: Upcoming
Afghan Loom Class

.         Example 2:

o   Original subject line:  About to toss my knitting needles out the window

o   Modified subject line to reflect your response of how to create a loose
cast on, the subject might read:  Techniques for Loose Cast On {About to
toss my knitting needles out the window} 

 

There is no one correct answer to how the subject line should read or one
format to reflect a shift in the topic.  I think it would be difficult to
dictate that we all use a single technique.  Just do what you think makes
sense for the situation you are faced with.  I'm sure that all efforts will
be appreciated. 

 

Please know that I am not pointing my finger at any one member.  We are all
guilty of doing this, myself included.  I am just trying to help Krafter's
Korner continue to be a great place to be a part of.

 

HTH,

Annette