Attachments FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

This page answers frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding emailing attachments, such as Word documents or JPEG photos, to a mailing list.

It is up to the list administrator to decide whether to allow list members to email pictures, documents, or other attachments to a mailing list. The vast majority of public mailing lists prohibit or at least discourage the sending of attachments. Therefore, do not send attachments (especially large attachments)without the administrator's consent. Some lists will be configured to reject emails with attachments. Other lists will not automatically reject attachments, but sending attachments may still be against the rules. In such a case, your attachment will go through to the list, but you'll probably get a stern rebuke from the adminstrator, moderator, or other list members.

There are numerous reasons not to send attachments, such as pictures, via email:

1. It may exceed other users' mailbox limit, causing their ISP to reject email.



2. It may take a long time to download for people on slower (i.e., typical) dial-up connections.
In Europe, where telephone charges are expensive, large attachments make list members particularly irate.


3. Most people don't know how to decode or view attachments sent via email, and some email programs have problems with them. Likewise, please refrain from sending HTML-formatted email to the list (you should instead use the "plain text" option available in the preferences of most email programs).
   
   
4. People who aren't interested still have to download them.
   
   
5. Attachments, especially Word documents and .EXE files, can contain viruses. You should NEVER open any attachments from anyone without having CURRENT anti-virus software, such as Symantec's Norton Anti-virus, installed on your machine. For more details on viruses in Word documents, click here.
   
   
6. Whereas Word documents can be useful for some communication, it is better to just cut and paste the text into the body of an email.

Q. How do I send pictures and documents without attaching them to email?

A. Instead of attaching documents to an email, the preferred method is to post the pictures or attachments on a web site and just send the URL (such as http://www.mystuff.com/photos/) to the recipient (whether an individual or a mailing list). That way, interested parties can download (or ignore) the documents or pictures at their leisure.
Most ISPs offer free web site space for this purpose. Many also offer password-protection to limit who can see the documents, which is more secure and private than sending pictures via email, which isn't secure at all.

In the case of Word documents, simply cut and paste the text into the body of an email. Click here for more details on alternatives to sending Word documents via email.

Q. How do I avoid downloading attachments that someone sent me?

A. Most email programs can be configured to not download attachments or to not download items larger than a specified size. Most email is under 5KB, whereas most attachments are over 5 KB. So setting a threshhold like 5 KB will let you download your email without waiting for large attachments. In all cases, you should have virus protection software installed, such as Symantec's Norton Anti-virus, to avoid contracting a virus through an email attachment. Norton AntiVirus 2001 has an option to automatically scan and protect email attachments.