Nachi "news" ???

[David B. Manley]

Is it just me or does the Nachi News seem to be just another advertisement for "deals" and "discounts"? with little "news"

I understand the need for the Message Board, but I don't seem to have the time to sit and scroll thru pages of messages when the relevent info should be sent in the "Nachi News"

And while I am here, the last chapter meeting I attended, a majority of time was spent talking about other "ventures" and ambitions ????

[W. Michael Chris]

David,

I thought the last newsletter did have helpful items . . . one that I found most useful was the site to create PowerPoint like presentations that can be linked to your site without have PowerPoint on your system . . . and the link to Scribus, a free page layout program, saving several 100s of dollars . . . and yes they do advertise, but honestly, on my monitor they are small and hard to read so it helps me to skip them . . . my 2¢ worth . . . and besides, if you don't like the newsletter, unsubscribe or put "report to spam" tag and they should disappear from your inbox.

[Carl H. Lederhaus]

I think the NACHI newsletter is great. There are many items to help us every time it comes out. You can always opt out if you want.

[David B. Manley]

That's not it, I look forward to see it in my inbox.

Communicating items or systems that can aid our business is helpful, no arguement there but is that "news"? But when there is more advertising content than industry updates and news...well. It's as if there isn't alot of news out there. The industry and market is changing daily and ease of access to this information should be a greater priority. That's all.

For those of us that have successful companies, we don't have the time to wade through blog after blog. I miss the the print version to a degree, but understand that an email blast is more convenient and cost effective. I would like to see a bit more content.

[Nick Gromicko]

NACHI news is not ours and is not published by us.

One of your fellow members publishes it and yes he funds his operation with paid ads that may be of use to some of our members. NACHI makes no money from this operation (not directly, not indirectly).

Even though it is not our publication... I like it very much.

[dbelmont]

I find the NEWS useful. Even the ads as I'm always interested in anything that can let me work either smarter or better.

This last one I downloaded Scribus. It's great and fits my plan of going all Linux so i can stop paying tribute to Microsloth.

So good tidbts of info. Check. Ads that are directed at my needs as an HI. check. Keep it coming

Enjoy

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Originally Posted by wchris1

David,

I thought the last newsletter did have helpful items . . . one that I found most useful was the site to create PowerPoint like presentations that can be linked to your site without have PowerPoint on your system . . . and the link to Scribus, a free page layout program, saving several 100s of dollars . . . and yes they do advertise, but honestly, on my monitor they are small and hard to read so it helps me to skip them . . . my 2¢ worth . . . and besides, if you don't like the newsletter, unsubscribe or put "report to spam" tag and they should disappear from your inbox.

Just a heads up as most people don't know this. PLEASE be careful with the report to spam option. It's actually a lot more than just setting your email to move the email to spam. All ISP's monitor what email gets 'reported as spam.' If enough people mark it then the sender will be marked as a spammer and NONE of the emails will get through to any NACHI members. In fact, the entire domain of the sender could get banned. If the sender used an @nachi.org then no nachi emails would get to your isp.

If you don't want something anymore and it's not spam, setup a filter to move it directly to the trash, or unsubscribe if you can.

Dominic

[rhumphries]

Originally Posted by wchris1

Scribus, a free page layout program, saving several 100s of dollars

Be careful with this kind of "advice". Though programs like Scribus may save you money, many print shops, quick-copy centers and designers do not use or accept programs like Scribus. Most would tell you to come back later when you have a file format compatible with what they are already using - those being Adobe, QuarkXpress or CorelDraw files, the three most widely-used professional graphics and layout programs on the planet.

Though most part-time, inexperienced desktop publishers would never invest $600 to $800 for a full suite of Adobe or QuarkXpress graphics products, Corel offers a high-end, professional graphics suite (vector - CorelDraw; bitmap - Corel PhotoPaint; and .swf - Corel R.A.V.E.) for as low as $70 for an OEM disc to as high as $400 (retail) for the full-blown suite with books and bitmap/vector clipart CDs included.

To save money, you just have to know how to shop. For example, buy the $70 OEM disc from an OEM supplier. Buy the 'how to' book from eBay or Amazon for as low as $15. Buy Clipart CDs from eBay as well for as little as $20 for the 100,000 image kit.

From the Wikipedia site on Scribus: "Scribus cannot read or write the native file formats of commercial programs like QuarkXPress and InDesign (by Adobe); the developers feel that reverse engineering those file formats would be prohibitively complex and could risk legal action from the makers of those programs."

If you plan on printing to your home or office printer, then use Scribus. Just don't expect to walk into Kinko's with a Scribus file and print to their Docutech digital duplex copiers. They won't be able to (nor want to) accept your Scribus files. And, of course, you cannot export Scribus files to a format that is compatible with Adobe, Quark or Corel products.

Now, that's "news" you can use.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by clederhaus

I think the NACHI newsletter is great. There are many items to help us every time it comes out. You can always opt out if you want.

Agreed!!

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by dbelmont

I find the NEWS useful. Even the ads as I'm always interested in anything that can let me work either smarter or better.

This last one I downloaded Scribus. It's great and fits my plan of going all Linux so i can stop paying tribute to Microsloth.

So good tidbts of info. Check. Ads that are directed at my needs as an HI. check. Keep it coming

Enjoy

Agreed!

[gporter]

Originally Posted by dmaricic

Just a heads up as most people don't know this. PLEASE be careful with the report to spam option. It's actually a lot more than just setting your email to move the email to spam. All ISP's monitor what email gets 'reported as spam.' If enough people mark it then the sender will be marked as a spammer and NONE of the emails will get through to any NACHI members. In fact, the entire domain of the sender could get banned. If the sender used an @nachi.org then no nachi emails would get to your isp.

If you don't want something anymore and it's not spam, setup a filter to move it directly to the trash, or unsubscribe if you can.

Dominic

It takes thousands of complaints to make that cat.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Originally Posted by gporter

It takes thousands of complaints to make that cat.

And just how many Nachi members are there ????

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Gary, Jeffrey is right. There's 10,000 NACHI members and an email is sent out at least once a month. It also doesn't need to be the same message, the domains and email addresses get banned. And a few hundred people mark it as spam each month, it will be billed as spam. The number is definitely not in the thousands either. For many email providers it would take less than a hundred people to mark it. I'm just saying, if you don't want it, use a filter to move it to the trash, it will hurt NACHI less.

I have a website that I've worked on for 10 years as a hobby. It is mainly a pet website with a forum with 700,000 messages and over 12,000 members. People have to voluntarily subscribe to messages if you want email notifications (just like Chris has setup here).

Over time people have clicked spam on these notifications rather than come to the website and remove themselves. Because of that I've had to spend hundreds of hours doing the rounds with Microsoft and other providers because they ended up marking ALL mail coming from the domain as spam. I've had this cleared up, and been re-listed about 5 times in the past 10 years. Each time it takes weeks to get cleared off. The only way I was able even to get to talk to a human at microsoft was to file a complaint with the BBB. It's amazing that even Microsoft doesn't like negative BBB marks! Anyways, the moral here is that each email was maybe sent to 5-20 people, but over time the marks build up.

[rhumphries]

Originally Posted by dmaricic

Over time people have clicked spam on these notifications rather than come to the website and remove themselves. Because of that I've had to spend hundreds of hours doing the rounds with Microsoft and other providers because they ended up marking ALL mail coming from the domain as spam. I've had this cleared up, and been re-listed about 5 times in the past 10 years. Each time it takes weeks to get cleared off.

Which is EXACTLY why I don't allow my subscribers to use our email servers to send email to their contacts list. I have no idea who are on their lists, but all it takes is a few complaints and the whole system becomes crippled for everyone involved.

This can happen as easily as when one or more inspectors send repetitive bulk emails to a list of real estate agents in his or her state (like, from the lists NACHI provides). Tick-off enough agents and the system gets shut down.....not to mention the possible monetary penalties we'd have to pay depending on the state and their laws....which would result in increased prices. Catch my drift?

Keep in mind, too, that this problem of ISPs black-listing domain names and IP addresses (i.e., of companies that allow clients to send unsolicited bulk email from their servers) extends to all other Web sites that reside on the same server as the offender's (if using a virtual hosting account or Virtual Private Host account). This means if the offending IP address gets reported as being a spammer, then every Website for every company that resides on the same server is affected.

Don't be a bully - Report SPAM when it is actually SPAM. Learn what constitutes SPAM by visiting here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...s/canspam.shtm

General Question (not to Dominic): Do you really think you're helping your own SERP rank when you report NACHI newsletters as SPAM and have a link on your own site back to the NACHI.org domain? Come on. Use your noodle.

[William J. Decker]

As with any newsletter, the qulaity is only as good as the content. I know the fellow who puts it out and he is constantly scrambling for content information.

If you want more content, why not pitch in and help. Write some articles or content.

Hope this helps;