1. What format is the newsletter?
2. Why was this format chosen?
3. When I try to open the file, I get a new window that says, “Open With…”?
4. Can you send it to me in Microsoft Word format?
5. Why does my Hotmail account or email program say that the newsletter is spam?
6. How do I subscribe/unsubscribe?
7. Can you subscribe me?
8. I subscribed but never received the confirmation email?
9. I received the confirmation email but did not receive the newsletter when it was sent?
10. When I try to subscribe I receive an error that my e-mail address is already registered. What does this mean?

What format is the newsletter?

The format is the Portable Document Format commonly called “PDF”. A reader (program) for this format is available for free from Adobe at the following URL: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Why was this format chosen?

• The reader is available for free and available for all major computing platforms. These include: Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and even Palm OS.
• No virus is currently known to exist that can infect using the Adobe Acrobat Reader. This offers the WOAC community extra protection.
• This format can be easily sent electronically to those who prefer to receive it by email and can also be easily printed for those who wish to receive it by regular post.

When I try to open the file, I get a new window that says, “Open With…”?

This means you either don’t have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed (see question 1 to get it) or the PDF format is not registered with the proper program. If the latter is the case, select “Acrobat Reader” from the "Open With..." menu and be sure that the “Always use this program to open these files” box is checked.

Can you send it to me in Microsoft Word format?

No. See question #2.

Why does my Hotmail account or email program say that the newsletter is spam?

Spam is a computer term for “unsolicited, bulk, email” or the electronic equivalent of junk mail. Many providers try to cut down on the amount of spam sent to their users by applying various rules to the messages.

One method is to ensure that the recipient’s name is in the “To:” or “CC:” field of the message. We send the newsletter out with each recipient listed in the “Bcc” or “blind carbon copy” field. The reasons are two-fold: 1) listing multiple recipients in the field reduces the load on our server 2) it prevents the “reaping” of email addresses by anyone wishing to add our readership to a spam database.

How do I subscribe/unsubscribe?

Point your web browser to http://www.woac.net/newsletter/ and follow the directions.

Can you subscribe me?

No. There are several reasons for this:

• By subscribing yourself, this extra workload is removed from the editors and chairpersons. There are currently several hundred subscribers and caring for the list alone would become a job in itself without automation.
• More importantly, by subscribing yourself you are confirming not only that we have the correct address but also that our mail server can talk to your mail server without any problems. You would not believe the number of returned emails we've had to sift through because the addresses were mistyped or just plain wrong. These extra emails waste Internet bandwidth and although we don't pay for it directly, someone is paying for that bandwidth and we want to be good net citizens. Besides, even though water is nearly free, you wouldn't leave a faucet dripping for no reason would you?
• By requiring each user to subscribe on their own, we ensure that no one is added to the list without their consent. We have had several users contact us claiming no knowledge of requesting to be added to this list and asking to be removed. We don't want to bother anyone with the newsletter that doesn't want it.

If you want the long and technical details of how the subscription and mail system works, email our webmaster.

I subscribed but never received the confirmation email?

Are you sure that you correctly entered your email address? It may sound like a silly question but this happens a lot. If you did not enter the correct email address you will never receive the confirmation letter.

I received the confirmation email but did not receive the newsletter when it was sent?

Did you follow the directions in the confirmation letter? It specifically requests that you visit the URL (web link) listed in the letter by either clicking on it or typing it into your web browser. If you do not do this, the program cannot verify that you received the letter and therefore will not subscribe you.

Another common reason that you may not be receiving the newsletter is that your mailbox may be over or close to the size limit imposed by your provider. In this case, check with your email provider to learn what is required to clean your mailbox.

When I try to subscribe I receive an error that my e-mail address is already registered. What does this mean?

It means exactly what it says. You are already registered to receive the newsletter. If you never subscribed yourself, then your name was probably entered into the database from the old list when this database was first created. It is counterproductive to send two copies of the newsletter to the same email address. Therefore, duplicate addresses are not permitted.

Send any questions to the newsletter editor.