From: tang@akofin.enet.dec.com (Gabe Tang)
Newsgroups: alt.personals
Subject: Re: Mass EMail on VMS
Date: 20 Aug 92 14:19:54 GMT
Organization: yup, the vms company


re: Rai and Derek,
> 
>M> I want to move the "Sope" story to e-mail. I need information on how to
>M> mass mail using VMS if it's available.  I wouldn't have to do this if
>M> Darryl would let me post it from an ap address but he WONT. :(
>There is a method (use the VMS help command to figure out how), that will
>allow you to set up a list of mailing addresses in a regular text file, and
>then for the To: field you enter the name of the file, or something to that
>effect. I used to use it all the time, but I haven't been on VMS in 3 years
>and I'm a little rusty... Just type HELP MAIL and it should give it to ya...

	Correct. On VMS email, you may use a distribution list that is a
	simple ascii text file. At the mail prompt, it would look like this:

	MAIL> send sope_story.file
	To:     @sope_story.distribution
	CC:     @alternative.distribution    
	Subj:   sope_story serial.....the continuing saga......

	where sope_story.distibution looks something like this:

	nm%gatewy::"tang@akofin.enet.dec.com"      	!gabe tel #xxx-xxx-xxxx
	nm%gatewy::"mcsweinberg@memstvx1.memst.edu"	!any comment you want
	gatewy::"admin@lemuria.sai.com"	     !blast it off to darryl too :-)

	in the above case:

	nm%  	indicates you will use the nmail transport utility which is
		a daemon process that will ensure transmission delivery to the 
		gateway message handler. It will retry until success.

	gatewy	is the name of your organization's specific gateway system to 
		handle/path/send-out/receive-in messages from nets like the
		internet.

	"xxx"	double quotes are needed to tell VMS that the addressing is
		not VMS formatted and should just be passed to the gateway
		as is, and let the gateway router handle it.

	!	anything to the right of the exclamation mark is considered a
		comment and will not be used in addressing. This can be helpful
		to document people's name(s), phone#, address or any other
		aspect that you wish to recall about them.



	Now, I document this, not so much because I know, like or am friendly
	with Rai, although her gif picture did show a miniscule but pretty 
	smile and a little shoulder action too.  ;-)

	Rather, I do so in the interest of assisting her relieve the net
	of spurious posts that resemble high-school cafeteria chatter of
	excruciatingly painful detail and which has in the past, and probably
	will continue to be irksome to those others who read a.p hoping and 
	searching for contact with someone who might provide them with some 
	companionship, interaction and maybe a whole bunch of gratuitous 
	and satisfying sex.  ;^)      me included.  8^0

	So, now if Rai and maybe some others....like SCOTT of past ACS fame, 
	for example, would tune down the hourly postings of what goes on
	in their lives and try to write some refreshing things, maybe of
	a humorous bent, then there won't be 50 new posts per day of which
	40 will be on-going chatter and maybe 10 personals of the xxx ISO yyy 
	type. This does not mean chatter is not a useful way to get to know 
	people and to keep this newsgroup active. But, I believe this is 
	already being done in alt.singles too. Personals usually connotes 
	postings of people seeking to meet other people who may be compatible 
	and enjoy each other's companionship......not in yucking it up on the
	latest happenings of your pet, your SO, your job, your car broke
	down or the house caught on fire. And if the poster isn't even
	single/available, then it's doubly disconcerting to read all the
	chatter of MOTAS that you can't even approach.

	I know, I know, flames will be coming forthwith. maybe that's why I
	rarely post and usually am only a voyeur. :-}
	Anyway, being on VMS, you probably can't finger me. Hey, but that's
	okay.....I don't know how to point to a null device either. :-(
	I guess after the fires die down, I'll come up for air someday. sheesh.
	If that's one thing I did learn from this net, it's that people will
	blast away on any slight little thing. I mean, come on, it's a given.
	So, shields up, engaging warp drive, and running for cover. :-}