Norm,

I still stand by my opinion that the reply to sender option is best for the 
reasons that
almost all of the responses that you have gotten that have been sent to the
list agreed with. The number of accidental personal posts to everyone on the
list has gone down 90% since you made the change.

Let me add the following thoughts to the discussion, you have been warned. 
For those of you that don't know me, this usually gets children screaming 
and animals running for cover.

First, many of the other lists filter out messages sent to an individual
that makes a post. In other words, when I post this message to MDOsprey, I
would not get a copy in my mail box, I would just get an acknowledgement
that the post was successfully received by the listserve for distribution.
MDOspey does not use this setting and I actually prefer it this way. Many
times I have reread my message after it makes the circle back to my inbox
and found that there was an error or an omission that I didn't catch before
I hit the send button. If the setting to acknowledge and filter the message
had been used, I wouldn't have known about the error and been able to fix it
unless someone called it to my attention.

Second, let me make it clear that I know that you are not suggesting that
membership to MDOsprey would require a fee. I understand that you wanted to
make a point to the membership that there is more to keeping the list going
than the cost of time. As far as costs are concerned, I know that many
people would object in having to pay a fee to subscribe to this list or any
list for that matter. Although the cost is small, it's just the nature of
people. I am not sure how many people are on the list currently but if you
are anywhere near the 500 person limit it would only cost $2 per person, per
year, to absorb the costs that are incurred to keep this list going in its
current state.

Instead of mandatory fees, many of us would be willing to make donations to
help with the costs and to free up those monies that the society expends for
this purpose so the society can put the money to use elsewhere. Perhaps when
the dues renewal notices go out from the MOS to send in the annual MOS fees
they could add a check box  and donation amount box in which members could
send in a voluntary contribution to MDOsprey to help the society recover
their costs. Members could then add the donation in addition to the amount
remitted for their club dues. One check, one envelope, it can't get much
easier. Perhaps a mention in each local club's newsletter about this option
when dues are sent in would be an alternative to having something added to
the membership form for now? When donating, members can just add a note in
the envelope explaining the purpose of the overpayment and the club
treasurer can send it to the state treasurer. Members of the list that are
not members of the society could be provided a mailing address if they would
wish to make a contribution.

I do suspect that if the donations come in and exceed the annual costs, this
could potentially cause the problem of what to do with the extra monies. If
the donations amount exceeds the annual costs, perhaps there are some
options that can be added to make the list better for everyone that can
absorb the overage? However, that can create a problem if the following
year's contributions tail off a bit and enough doesn't come in to pay the
costs, then we now have put the burden back into the societies pocket and
created a larger monster to feed. The whole issue does open a can of worms
when it comes to accounting and accountability. If the state receives
donations that add up to double the amount of the annual costs, what then.
If people are sending in donations intended for one purpose, what problems
does this create if there is money left over? I assume that a limited amount
of money can be held in reserve for future expenditures, but then what? I
say we we let Norm pay down his mortgage! Kidding aside, does the state then
have the option to put this money to use somewhere else once the annual
costs of the listserve have been met; perhaps the scholarship program or
some other worthy cause? Janet Millenson, (MOS Pres) if you read this, do
you have any thoughts?

I just think that people willing to donate to the fund would send in $20,
$25, $50 or more and they would contribute enough to satisfy the list's
costs without making fees a requirement for inclusion. Forcing a charge to
the user, no matter how small, would just chase some people away and prevent
new members from signing up. A lot of good contributors would be lost for
the wrong reason. On the other hand, I would like to see an attempt to have
the costs of this tranferred, on a voluntary basis, to the user in some
degree, so that the listserve can be self supportive and not a financial
burden on an individual or an organization.

One last thought. I saw someone write a post about being willing to 
contribute but they also felt that in doing so, this gave them the right to 
have a say in how the list is run. Let me say this. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Oh 
yeah, and NO WAY! If someone is making a contribution it should be without 
any strings being attached. You should be making the contribution because 
you accept the list as it is, even with what you perceive as flaws, and you 
want to help make the list self sufficient. This isn't a PAC fund that buys 
you a politicians ear. The listserve remains under the ownership, guidance 
and control of the listowner and making a contribution should not allow 
ANYONE influence over how it is run, even if that individual makes a 
contribution to cover then entire cost of the annual operation. If you don't 
like the list as it is, make suggestions in the public forum for discussion 
or send a recommendation to the list owner. It is strictly the listowner's 
prerogative to accept these suggestions or leave things at the status 
quo.You are not buying a share of the company, that's why it's called a 
voluntary contribution. Your other option is to start a new list that can be 
exactly how you like it.

Thank you, Norm and Fran, for all of the hard work that you two put in to
keeping this list going. You do a hell of a job!

Ed Boyd
Westminster, MD