DECEMBER REVIEW OF THE GP-UK LIST   (01/12/96)


**  GP-UK HITS FIVE HUNDRED !!  **

More than 500 members are currently subscribed to GP-UK, making it one
of the most successful Mailbase lists. However, the rate of growth has
slowed and list traffic has reached a plateau over the past 8 - 9 months
or so, indicating that the list has matured / become saturated. The next
step will be the creation of associated specialised daughter lists - for
which we will need your help and advice. Look out for a message from the
list-owners real soon now.


**  LONG QUOTES  **

We have received feedback about the length of quoted text in some
messages. These clutter the list and are less likely to be read, we are
told. Could members please cut quotations to a minimum (see: Netiquette
Reminder, below).


**  A WORD OF WARNING  **

MEMBERS ARE ADVISED TO CONSIDER COMMENTS POSTED TO GP-UK TO BE
IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

We wish to remind you that GP-UK is an open list. This means that any
opinion you express *will* be read by members who are not members of
the medical professions. Messages posted in GP-UK are archived (see
below) and are, in effect, permanent - once you have posted a message
it cannot be withdrawn.

While the vast majority of messages are not contentious, some may expose
the author, or others, to risk. In this environment, members should be
aware of the risk of breaches of confidentiality, and of the possibility
that other list members may seek to profit from the content of messages
posted in GP-UK. We would like to think that GP-UK members will not take
advantage of each other, but the nature of the Mailbase server means
that we cannot vet the membership.

In particular, members should remember that messages may:

a)  leave them vulnerable to legal action in a way that normal
    conversation would not, and
b)  leave them open to adverse reporting in the press.

THINK BEFORE YOU POST!


**  The PHCSG and GP-UK web pages are available at:

    http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nphcare/PHCSG/phcsg1.htm
    http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nphcare/GPUK/gpukhome.html


LIST DESCRIPTION

GP-UK facilitates discussion on new ideas, research, workshops,
seminars, conferences, grants, education, software development etc. for
the UK General Practice (Family Medicine) community. Non-UK views are
also welcome. GP-UK intends to promote collaborative work, problem
solving and support.


NETIQUETTE REMINDER

Members are reminded that this is an "academic" list and should not be
used for personal or commercial messages.

Due to increasing traffic we would urge members to avoid posting
"me too" messages, and large chunks of quotation.

Replies are set to GP-UK automatically. If replying personally to the
author please use email, not gp-uk. If using commands (see below) send
them to mailbase, not gp-uk.

Uncollected mail bounces and generates much unnecessary traffic. If you
go away for over a week please use the suspend gp-uk command (see below)
or you may be removed from the list. If you find you have been removed
please don't take it personally; simply rejoin using the join gp-uk
command (see below).

Brevity is appreciated: please keep messages below 10K where possible.
For this reason plain ASCII text is the preferred message format.
Large graphics or other UUencoded files should be transmitted privately
upon request rather than directly to the gp-uk list.


MAILBASE COMMANDS

Commands are entered into the body of an email message. The subject of
the email message is left blank. Substitute items in angle brackets with
your own details. Add "stop" at the end of the message to prevent
Mailbase from interpreting your signature as a series of commands. For
instance, if John Smith were to subscribe to gp-uk his message would
read:

    join gp-uk john smith
    stop

To enhance your use of gp-uk a number of commands are available. They
must be sent to mailbase and not GP-UK, i.e.:

    mailto:[log in to unmask]   and NOT to [log in to unmask]

To join gp-uk:
    join gp-uk <firstname> <surname>

To leave gp-uk permanently:
    leave gp-uk

To suspend mail temporarily e.g. when you go on holiday:
    suspend mail gp-uk

To resume mail on your return:
    resume mail gp-uk

To obtain a detailed guide to using mailbase lists like gp-uk:
    send mailbase user-guide

To obtain the gopher tutorial:
    send mailbase gopher-tutorial

To obtain our introduction file (sent automatically to all new members):
    send gp-uk introduction

To obtain a list of the current membership of gp-uk
    review gp-uk

To obtain details collated from questionnaires submitted by gp-uk members:
    send gp-uk subscribers


ACCESSING ARCHIVES

Other files associated with the list may be located and retrieved using
the anonymous FTP service at:

    ftp://ftp.mailbase.ac.uk   /pub/mailbase/lists/gp-uk

or more easily via the World Wide Web:

    http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/gp-uk/


PROBLEMS

You can contact all the list owners simultaneously at:

    mailto:[log in to unmask]


CURRENT ATTRIBUTES

For this list non-members may:
    - Subscribe direct
    - Contribute mail
    - Request review
    - Request files

This list is not moderated.
Contributions to this list are archived for one year.
Replies are sent to the list rather than to the message-sender.


LIST TRAFFIC

Total messages (average per day):

    May 95 - 118  (4.5)
    Jun 95 - 310  (8.6)
    Jul 95 - 170  (6.1)
    Aug 95 - 133  (4.2)
    Sep 95 - 170  (6.1)
    Oct 95 - 353  (11.0)
    Nov 95 - 479  (16.5)
    Dec 95 - 375  (11.4)
    Jan 96 - 375  (12.5)
    Feb 96 - 675  (21.8)
    Mar 96 - 875  (30.2)
    A/M 96 - 1299 (21.3)
    Jun 96 - 806  (25.2)
    Jul 96 - 619  (21.3)
    Aug 96 - 737  (23.8)
    Sep 96 - 845  (25.6)
    Oct 96 - 692  (22.3)
    Nov 96 - 745  (27.6)


MEMBERSHIP

There are currently 504 members. The list is now too long to publish
regularly on gp-uk, but membership details may be obtained using the
Mailbase commands detailed above, or via hot links from our home page.

We invite all subscribers to complete our simple questionnaire: details
will be collated and uploaded to the subscribers file. Please clip out
and return your completed proforma to:

    mailto:[log in to unmask]

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QUESTIONNAIRE

1.  Name:

2.  Snailmail Address:

3.  Tel:

4.  Fax:

5.  Email Address:

6.  Description: e.g. GP, academic title, managerial/commercial post ?

7.  If GP: which clinical software system ?

8.  If academic: research interest ?

9.  If managerial/commercial: area of responsibility ?

10. Special interests: e.g. clinical coding, EMR, messaging etc. ?

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**  MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL !!  **


--
Dr Ian Trimble                        http://www.sherwood.demon.co.uk/
Sherwood Health Centre
Elmswood Gardens                                 Tel: +44 115 962 4516
Nottingham     NG5 4AD                           Fax: +44 115 985 7899



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