Frequently Asked Questions

The LED Digest (just "LED" for short) is a moderated email discussion list. It consists of subscriber discussions compiled by the moderator, who chooses which posts best fit the topics and issues at hand. It's email for your brain!

Okay, but what's an email discussion list?

An email discussion list is a moderated forum published by email. It works in similar fashion to many online forums, but is more actively moderated and edited, and is distributed once per day in plain text format.

You can find out more about email discussion lists from the Wiki entry.

How exactly does the process work?

It works like an email discussion list. Okay, maybe that wasn't very helpful... The LED is published Monday through Friday at midnight Pacific Standard Time (that's -08:00 GMT). Any given issue will have a variety of topics in discussion, just like you'd see at a busy forum online. Subscribers (also called "LEDers") who wish to join in the discussions send their posts to the list. The moderator then collects and organizes these posts into an edited, coherent, and tidy final issue. Sometimes he'll chime in with a comment or two, but more often than not he's learned to keep his mouth shut.

What the heck does "LED" stand for?

That's a good question. It's a bit of a long answer, though, so go pull yourself a fresh espresso off the Francis Francis. All set? Good.

Way back in early 1997 the LinkExchange Digest was born as a discussion list patterned after the I-Sales model (which was modeled by its founder, John Audette, after an even older list). Tony Hsieh, a co-founder of LinkExchange, enjoyed I-Sales and wanted to offer a similar resource to his LinkExchange banner and web promotion network. LinkExchange was a great company: successful without estranging themselves from the customer. In fact, they enjoyed great community and loyalty from their customer base, so a discussion list was a natural fit. Eventually their success led to a buyout from MSN, who changed the name to MSN Daily Digest. And so began the slow (but inevitable) detioration of the trusted LinkExchange Network.

I worked for MSN for nearly two years, until budget cuts forced much of the old LinkExchange services, including the Daily Digest, to be eliminated from their business model. These changes coincided with the dark days of the Internet crash, when funds were tight and everyone seemed to be scrambling for revenue ideas. When MSN made these cuts, they handed the list over to me.

After securing the list, the first thing I wanted to do was bring the LED's identity back to its roots. During the MSN days the list could not shake the LED brand, and subscribers continued to call themselves LEDers. Reclaiming our old name has been largely symbolic of the circular road this list has taken since its inception almost 10 years ago. It is the LED again. But this time the name "LED" doesn't stand for anything in particular; it is simply a signification of its long tradition and reputation.

Still reading? You can find out even more about the history of the LED, including interviews with 'Net pioneers and veterans, in this section of the site.

What is the focus of the LED and what topics are discussed?

The goal of the LED has been consistent since its inception: to provide a forum for meaningful and helpful discussions of ecommerce issues by those engaged in the online sale of products and services. In other words, the LED seeks to help list members sell more, more often, to more people, for more profit, with less cost, less time, less effort and less risk.

Discussion topics can be quite broad or extremely narrow. General topics areas of relevance include:

Observations, experiences and opinions that may help LEDers better understand the Internet.
Case studies involving real experiences with Internet initiatives.
Information, ideas and experiences with techniques and tools, such as marketing (including market research, pricing, distribution, sales, branding, etc.) and ecommerce.
Anything that might help LEDers further their business goals.

In addition to the above guidelines, here are some specific topics that are often discussed:

Search engine optimization / marketing (SEO/M)
PPC / PPV / PPP
Refining AdSense / AdWords / Yahoo! / MSN
Getting listed on ODP
Optimal design, cross-compatibility, web standards, and accessibility
Marketing both online and offline
Client relations, conflicts of interest, referrals, etc.
Merchant accounts, shopping carts, Paypal, etc
International payment gateways
Controlling UCE (spam), email filtering, etc.
Busines ethics and obligations, contracts, etc.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
Email publishing
eBay and other "non-traditional" marketing avenues
Creating PDFs and selling e-books

What do you mean when you say the list is "moderated"?

"Moderated" means that postings sent by LEDers are received by a moderator, who reviews each one and selects the most pertinent for inclusion in the published issues. Very approximately, between 8 to 15 posts may be published in each issue, and selection is at the discretion of the moderator, based primarily on content and relevancy.

Who's this fancy moderator guy, anyway?

Oh, he's a fancy lad alright. Your moderator is Adam Audette. I've been doing this for many years and have developed a tried and true method: let the list run itself. Seriously, the LED really isn't about me at all, but if you'd care to find out who I am you can check this page out.

I'm ready to contribute. What do I need to know about posting?

I'm happy you asked. Posting is pretty simple really, just click on the hyperlink included below each post in the LED Digest. The posting address is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Before you post, a couple of points. Make sure you check out the archives and familiarize yourself with the list. Also, please include a good subject line for me - something topical and clear - so that I can get the gist of your meaning in one glance. Finally, a full name is appreciated, and actually, required.

Why wasn't my post published, you ninny?!

Hey now, no name calling. There are lots of reasons why posts aren't published. However, it is my goal to publish every post I receive. Here are some of the most frequent reasons why a post is not chosen:

The post was a blatant commercial advertisement. That's a sure failure. Even if it wasn't a blatant attempt at self-promotion, it may have been a cleverly veiled attempt. I've seen it all, and nothing gets past my gaze, which is how I earned the title "Eagle Eye Audette" from legendary Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian. Now who's the ninny? (don't answer that)

The post was submitted by replying (hitting "Reply" in your e-mail client) directly to the LED, which quoted the entire body of the publication in the email. That's just lazy, it's messy, and it goes right to the trash bin.

The post was off-topic.

The post covered a topic that had been thoroughly discussed in past issues of the digest. Be sure to search the LED archives if you are unsure if your post has been previously discussed.

The post was full of misspellings or typographical errors or had an overall unprofessional appearance (like a pink font with teddy bears in the background). I'll lightly edit posts that contain excellent content, but you're better off relying on the spell checker in your e-mail program.

The post lacked substance. It was not in-depth, it was far too general or it was redundant.

The post was unsigned. I require that you sign your posts with a minimum of your name; a company name and URL are also encouraged.

The post was a direct response to an individual and not relevant to the entire list.

If you have a question about any of this, feel free to contact me.

What's the deal with sig files?

The deal with sig files is that they're allowed, with some restrictions. In addition to your own name and title, you may opt for a company name, URL, and "mellow" (in terms of marketing intrusiveness) slogan. You can also opt to include your email address, which will be monkey encoded ala "name, domain.com." Here's an example of a typical sig file:

Adam "Eagle Eye" Audette, LED Moderator Guy
The LED Digest
www.led-digest.com
A discussion list for ecommerce - it's email for your brain!

Something like that. Occasionally I'll allow more than 1 URL, and maybe other stuff too, depending on the poster, my mood, and the phase of the moon. LEDers who have posted many times, or posted high quality contributions, will necessarily receive more leniency in this regard.

May I reprint content from the LED?

We have a conservative policy:

1.] Obtain permission from the person who posted the message.

2.] Obtain permission from me, Adam Audette, the LED moderator.

3.] Give full attribution to the person who posted and to the LED Digest, including our URL: http://www.led-digest.com

4.] Notify me and provide the URL or a copy of the publication where the material appeared.

Please be certain these 4 steps are all satisfied before reprinting material from the LED Digest. The reason I've had to impose these strict requirements is due to simple human greed. People seem to love to steal our content, post it all over their sites with no source citations, and litter it with AdSense. This is so not cool.

In what format can I receive the LED?

The LED is available in plain text format. We also publish an RSS feed version. We don't offer an HTML version.

Why no HTML? Get with it, luddite.

Yes, HTML email is fun stuff, but it can be complicated. Compatibility is an issue with all the different email clients and services out there. Plus, the LED is a practical business forum, and text email fits the "roll up your sleeves" sensibility of the list.

How do I subscribe and unsubscribe?

The LED has handy and prominently displayed subscribe and unsubscribe instructions with links in the header and footer of every message. The process is automated and single opt-out. No funny stuff. The best method is to use the tools on this site, but there are email links as well. Below is the link to our Subscription Center. Email links are included for the sake of completeness.

Subscription Center

... or alternatively ...

Subscribe:

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Unsubscribe:

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

How do I go about changing my email address?

You can change your email address in our Subscription Center at the link above.

I don't know what email I subscribed with. How can I find out?

Oh bother... (only kidding)... You can find your subscribed email by opening any issue of the LED and spotting this line right at the top:

You are subscribed as: [your email address]

This is also included above the footer information. Every issue of the LED published since issue no. 1495 (January 2003) includes this automagical feature.

Are there other legal disclaimers that I should be aware of?

Are you ready to digest a block of pedantic and prolix legalese?

LEGAL DISCLAIMERS

All information contained herein is obtained by the LED Digest (hereafter called "LED") from sources believed by LED to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, neither LED nor Adam Audette is responsible for any errors or omissions. All information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Audette and LED make no representations and disclaim all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind to the user and/or any third party including, without limitation, warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.

Unless due to willful tortuous misconduct or gross negligence, Audette and LED shall have no liability in tort, contract, or otherwise (and as permitted by law, product liability), to the user and/or any third party.

Under no circumstance shall Audette or LED be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever, even if Audette or LED has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

A service of this discussion list is to provide news summaries and/or snippets to list members. In such instances articles and/or snippets will be reprinted as they are received from the originating party or as they are displayed on the originating website or in the original article. As we do not write the news, we merely point list members to it, under no circumstance shall Audette or LED be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever due to the distribution of said news articles or snippets that lead users to a full article on a news service's website, even if Audette or LED has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Authors of the original news story and their publications shall be exclusively held liable. Any corrections to news stories are not mandatory and shall be printed at the discretion of the list moderator after evaluation on a case by case basis.

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