Jody and Robbie:  If you haven't already gotten forty copies of this
I thought you might enjoy it.  Keep up the good work.

Marc Sachnoff

> Forwarded message:
> From:  jbradley@earthlink.net (GRAVY)
> Date: 97-08-18 20:44:39 EDT
>
> An Internet discussion list sounds like a great thing if you haven't
> tried it.  You think you'll subscribe and learn from other people's
> experience with the topic.  That does happen, but many people believe
> that a list's real purpose is to provide an opportunity for social
> living and interaction.  The information and the actual topic are
> often quite secondary.
>
> You don't have to have been on a lot of Internet discussion lists
> to find a laugh in here somewhere.
>
> jb  (contributed by Linda Rheinstein)
>
>  Q:  How many Internet mail list subscribers does it take
>      to change a light bulb?
>
>  A:  Exactly five hundred, as follows:
>
>  1 to change the light bulb and to post to the mail
>    list that the light bulb has been changed.
>
>  7 to share similar experiences of changing light
>    bulbs and how the light bulb could have been
>    changed differently.
>
> ... [ snip]


 [ Editor's note:
 [
 [ I've only seen this one a couple of times.  Claus Kucher actually
 [ went to the trouble of "editing" it to refer to MMD mail list
 [ subscribers.  It was published in digest.97.04.16 and read as follows:
 [
 [ -- Jody


>  From: claus@silverserver.co.at (Claus Kucher)
>  To: rolls@foxtail.com (Mechanical Music Digest)
>  Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 12:57:23 +0000
>
>  Subject: Humor: Repairing a Player Piano
>
>  Question:  How many MMD mail list subscribers does it take
>             to repair a player piano?
>
>  Answer:    1,331 --
>
>    1 to repair the player piano and to post to the mail
>      list that the player piano has been fixed
>
>   14 to share similar experiences of repairing a player
>      piano and how the player piano could have been
>      repaired differently.
>
> ... [ snip]


 [ Relief Editor's note:
 [
 [ Nobody at MMD wants to change light bulbs.  I shall now use the
 [ editing feature "Substitute Global" and see what results...!
 [
 [ -- Robbie


Q:  How many MMD subscribers does it take to change a piano keytop?

A:  As of tonight exactly 575, as follows:

  1 to change the keytop and to post to the mail list
      that the keytop has been changed.

  7 to share similar experiences of changing keytops and
      how the keytop could have been changed differently.

  3 to add comments about the similar experiences.

  4 to caution about the dangers of changing keytops.

 17 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about
      changing keytops.

 21 to flame the spell checkers.

 49 to write to the list administrator complaining about the keytop
      discussion and its inappropriateness to this mail list.

 20 to correct the spelling in the spelling/grammar flames.

 32 to post that this list is not about keytops
      and to please take this email exchange to alt.keys.yellow

 69 to demand that cross posting to alt.grammar, alt.spelling
      and alt.punctuation about changing keytops be stopped.

 41 to defend the posting to this list saying that we all use keytops,
      and therefore the posts **are** relevant to this mail list.

106 to debate which method of changing keytops is superior,
      where to buy the best keytops,
      what brand of keytops work best for this technique,
      and what brands are faulty.

 12 to post URLs where one can see examples of different keytops.

  8 to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly,
      and to post corrected URLs.

  2 to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant
      to this list which makes keytops relevant to this list.

 15 to concatenate all posts to date, then quote them including
      all headers and footers, and then add pointedly, "Me Too."

  6 to post to the list that they are un-subscribing
      because they cannot handle the keytop controversy.

  9 to quote the "Me Too's" and happily add, "Me Three!"

  3 to suggest that posters request the keytop FAQ.   [ Good idea! ]

  1 to propose a new newsgroup called  alt.replace.key.top

 24 to say this is just what alt.physic.cold_fusion
      was meant for, and to leave it there.

 53 votes for alt.lite.bulb

 [ Next topic: Glue ! ]


 [ You see how this can get out of control, and that's a hazard of the
 [ "un-moderated list server."  Our Mechanical Music Digest could succumb
 [ to the same malaise except that we are a "moderated list server",
 [ which means that Jody and I keep matters under control, more or less,
 [ and we receive enough letters from you to know that you like it this
 [ way!  :-)   -- Robbie