Back to Events main page.
Getting a message onto the list
Please remember that, for the most part, I'm nothing to do with the organisation of any of these events. I'm passing on information I have in good faith, but cannot be held responsible for any errors. Please check with the event organisers (and I'd appreciate being told about any errors - thanks).
How do I subscribe to this list?
Complete the form on the subscribing page.
How often should I get one of these messages?
I normally send out a message once a week, usually on Tuesdays. However, this is not guaranteed. Particularly during the Summer not enough happens to make a weekly message worthwhile. Other random events such as holidays or the day job can also get in the way.
Why do I keep getting two messages?
One, with the subject "Somerset and Dorset Folk Events Diary", is a full listing of every event from the date of the message. Each week, events that have passed are removed, and new ones, and any updates, are added. The other, with the subject "Updates to Somerset and Dorset Folk Events Diary" just contains the new and updated material. Both messages have the same introductory material and the same administrative information at the end.
I haven't had a message for three weeks - what should I do?
I've got a friend who'd like to get these messages, what should I do?
Tell them about the subscription page or send me their email address and ask for them to be added to the list. (I'd really prefer it if they sent me an email themselves - just so I'm sure that they really do want their inbox filled with this stuff.)
I don't want to get any more messages, what should I do?
Send me an email asking to be taken off the address list. If you change your mind, just send another message asking to be put back on.
I'd like you to publicise my barn dance/concert/singaround, what do I do?
Tell me about it (preferably by completing this form). You will need the following information.
Exactly what area do you cover?
The title says 'Somerset and Dorset', but there's a bias towards the Yeovil area, if only because that's where I live, so it's easier to find out what's going on. The north of the 'traditional' county of Somerset is well served by things like 'Folk around Bristol', so I don't intend to provide a definitive service for Bath and its surroundings. Currently, I don't get much information about the Taunton and Bridgwater areas, but Minehead is well covered. Most of Dorset seems to be well covered by various contacts who let me know what's going on in their area.
I'd like you to tell people about this wonderful jazz concert/pantomime/art exhibition I'm running
Sorry - folk events only. I'm fairly lenient about my definition of 'folk' but I do have to draw the line somewhere. What I will do occasionally is tell people if there is a venue or series of events happening which is outside my remit but I think there might be some cross over (for example - I only list the Dorset Artsreach events which are folk oriented, but I have been known to tell people about Artsreach as an organisation so they can find out more information for themselves).
We've done a really nice poster/flyer/press release in Microsoft Word - shall I send it to you?
I'd rather you didn't. Sending attachments on emails when the recipient is not expecting them can be dangerous (viruses can be spread this way) or a waste of time (if your recipient has a filtering system which blocks them). The best thing to do is cut and paste the information into a mail message instead.
However, I can now deal with most word processors, so if you are not too sure what to do, or want to add me to a press release mailing list, that's OK.
If you want people to get more information about an event, creating your own web page is the best way. I will always post a link if you tell me about it.
Could you provide a link my web page?
Send me the link and I'll have a look.
May I post a link to this web site?
Certainly.
What's the Forum all about?
It's a series of message boards, enabling people to post messages for others to read.
Do I have to use the forum to get the events messages?
No. They are completely separate. You can use the forum without getting the messages and vice versa.
Do I have register to use the forum?
Not at the moment. I've removed the need to register in an attempt to make the system easier to use. So, anyone can post messages and reply to other people.
What can I talk about on the Forum
Fundamentally, anything you like. Of course, the web site is centered around folk music and dance in our area, so I expect most of the messages to be also so centered.
At the moment there are 'boards' for:
However, it's very easy for me to add or remove boards, so it's up to you really.
Why the name change?
This site and email service used to be hosted on my "free" Freeserve site. This provides a fairly limited range of services and storage space. I wanted to expand the range of things I was doing on the web (I was also webmaster for the morris teams Treacle Eater Clog and Babylon), so decided to start separate web sites for all three. Amongst other things, it enables the event submission form to work! It also provides the Forum facility.
Didn't this page mention Yeovil once upon a time?
Yes. When I started the list, I was intending it to cover those events I could get to. The geographical limits were intended to be about a forty-five minute drive from my house. However, the list took on a life of its own and I started to get details of things which were outside that area, but were within an equivalent area for friends who received the list. It seemed churlish not to mention them, so the area grew. It then changed to "Somerset and Dorset Folk Events", which is a bit of a mouthful. The current "SADFolk" tag arrived when the service moved to its own web domain.
My messages look different these days - they used not to have my email address on, did they?
Correct. Following a tightening up of anti-spam policies by one of the free ISPs (Yahoo, I think) I've had to change the way the messages are sent out. Originally, there was one message sent to a list, but the list was hidden (for full details see the 'miscellaneous and technical' section below). Now I send out an individual message to each subscriber. This takes longer, but I think provides a better service for you.
Why do you run this as an email service, not as a web page?
There are two reasons.
How are the messages put together? Do you just use Outlook?
I started with Outlook Express, but soon found a limitation when it comes large address lists. You can neither search nor sort them. So I wrote my own mailer program in Perl (or rather, I strung some Perl library calls together!). Both the address list and the message are just plain text files. Makes it all much easier.
Who are you?
Steve Cunio. I live in Montacute, near Yeovil. My primary 'folk' interests are morris and calling for barn dances, although I enjoy concerts, sessions, workshops and so on as well (most of the stuff covered by the list, in fact)
All the "Somerset and Dorset Folk Events Diary" pages, except for the Forum, conform to the following standards.
