The general rule is to post to the smallest distribution necessary to get the job done. For example, before responding to a question, read the entire discussion thread to see if the question has been answered before. If it has, your response would not be of general interest to the group and should be sent instead via e-mail to the individ ual who submitted the current question. Do not automatically include the text of the item to which you are responding. If your item follows an existing discussion thread, readers who choose your posting have probably read the earlier posting, too.
Many items are excessively long because they include all previous discussion.
If including some previous discussion is necessary, edit the text to include only the relevant lines. Keep controversy in its place. It will also take time for others to read the item once it is distributed, so do not expect responses immediately.