NP List functionality suggestion

[jbor at bigpond.com]

> And please please don't do it in MIME format, which the W.A.S.T.E.
> system re-transmits as yards and yards and yards of irritating
> gibberish.

Seriously, though, it might be worth trying to improve the 
functionality of the list-digest and list-archives by asking Murthy to 
place a block on all MIME-format, html and rft posts. It might be a 
simple thing to do, and they must already have a spam-filter in place. 
They have certainly blocked posts in the past.

A note could be placed on the list home page. By blocking html and MIME 
posts no real content would be lost, and legitimate new subscribers 
would soon learn how to send plain text emails if they wanted to 
participate, as would those who deliberately choose to use html, MIME 
and rich text (knowing that it does come up as gibberish). Html links 
can still be embedded in plain text posts.

I think the list has lost a lot of worthwhile contributors over the 
years because the signal to noise ratio is so low. Improving the 
functionality of the list, and blocking one way in which the 
incorrigibles disrupt the discourse, might encourage some of them to 
return.

I'll cc'ed Murthy to see what he says.

best