Who is everyone? The SoloSezzers Directory
Where is everyone? The SoloSezzers Map (Or, at least, there used to be one there. Let me know if I can update the link.)
When was all this going on? The SoloSez® Message Threads Archive
Frequently Asked Questions:
How can I subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) SoloSez®?
Where can I find some general rules and guidelines about SoloSez®?
I'm being swamped by the volume of SoloSez® mail. How can I deal with it?
Who (or what) is COTE (and now COTEF)?
What about AVVO, or LegalMatch, or the best online fax service?
Where I can find documents uploaded by members?
Does it violate netiquette if I make a "TEST" post?
I'm not receiving any messages. Is the site down?
What does the list think of attorney referral services?
Okay, I get COTE, but what's MOTH?
What's a GSOT, and will it cut my client's estate tax?
What are those bracketed things like [WC] in the subject lines of posts?
Why don't my own SoloSez® posts show up in my inbox?
What's the deal with Jim Tyre?
There is an error on this list, or I think something should be added.
Q: How can I subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) SoloSez®?
Right here: SoloSez® Subscribe/Unsubscribe.
Q: Where can I find some general rules and guidelines about SoloSez®?
The SoloSez® home page can be found here (there is also a link at the upper right of this page). The main list of rules and guidelines is called the "Administrivia."
Q: I'm being swamped by the volume of SoloSez® mail. How can I deal with it?
There are several ways to handle this.
1. You can elect to only get the daily digest version, but then you get
one email with hundreds of emails embedded in it.
2. Set up a separate Gmail account just for SoloSez® and subscribe to
the list using that email address. Gmail will "thread" the
conversations for you and then let you delete the entire thread with
one click. So if the topic "Which way should the toilet paper go on
the roll" doesn't interest you, you can delete it and the 50 replies
from people it did interest in one click. (Other e-mail clients, like
Mozilla Thunderbird, will thread conversations too.)
3. Set up a rule in your e-mail program that automatically routes mail
from solosez@mail.americanbar.org to a separate folder.
Q: Who (or what) is COTE (and now COTEF)?
COTE stands for "Creature Of The Ether," which
refers to the current list moderator: jennifer rose
(who distrusts capitalization and may be reached at jjrose ("at
symbol") jjrose.com). Incur the wrath of COTE at your peril. As of
2012, COTEF stands for "Creature of the Ether's Flunky," which would be
Scott Barer, deputized by COTE to help monitor the list.
Q: Where are the archives?
They are on this
Website at http://solosezfaq.com/archives.
Q: What about AVVO, or LegalMatch, or the best online fax service?
Don't get us started on AVVO; we will be arguing for days. Some love
it, some hate it. We'll
take the Fifth on LegalMatch. And there are multiple recommendations
for the best online fax service. So we suggest you check the SoloSez®
Archives for this and similar common discussions (see above answer).
Q: Where I can find documents uploaded by SoloSez® members?
They were at MyDocsOnline
and then NetDocuments for many years, but they are now at a Google Docs
page set up by Seth Combs: https://tinyurl.com/solosezdocs.
There's a link to it at the above right, too. Please do not abuse the
site, or delete anything.
Q: What does SWMBO mean?
It stands for She Who Must Be Obeyed, and is a reference to what Rumpole (of the Bailey) called his wife. Sometimes female lawyers refer to HWMBI (He Who Must Be Ignored), but that is not seen as frequently.
Q: Does it violate netiquette if I make a "TEST" post?
"Netiquette" is, of course, etiquette for the Internet. Sometimes people send posts that just say "testing," since they do not know if their e-mail is working. It's okay if you don't go overboard.
Q: I'm not receiving any messages. Is the site down?
It does happen sometimes. Try not to panic.
Q: What does the list think of attorney referral services?
Although opinions differ on things like Avvo and what the best word processor / practice management software is, folks on the list have consistently reported no results from signing up with attorney referral services. They are not a good way to market your practice.
Q: Okay, I get COTE, but what's MOTH?
A frequent contributor to the list is one Marilou Auer, a legal secretary who has regaled the group with stories of escapades with her beloved rodent companions. She has therefore become known as MOTH, or Marilou Of The Hamsters.
Q: What's a GSOT, and will it cut my client's estate tax?
GSOT stands for Great State Of Texas, and (unlike, say, a GRAT or a CRUT) it will not help with estate taxes. It will save your client state income taxes, since we do not have them here.
Q: What are those bracketed things like [WC] in the subject lines of posts?
They indicate the topic, to help people skim the list more quickly
and easily, and only read what they want to:
[OT] - Off-Topic (something different than what we were talking about
before on this thread)
[WC] - "Water Cooler" (non-law related) chat
[CT] - Connecticut (substitute your state postal code - for
state-specific issues)
[BK] - BanKruptcy
[FOOD] - Cooking, eating, shopping, gifting
[HUMOR] - Does it need explaining?
[TECH] - Technology questions, reviews, and rants
Q: Why don't my own SoloSez® posts show up in my inbox?
For one of two reasons. First, your SoloSez® list settings (reachable at http://mail.americanbar.org/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=SOLOSEZ) may not have the "Receive copy of own postings" option checked. Second, if you are using GMail, it will not display your own posting unless it gets a reply.
Q: What does "AKL" mean?
AKL stands for the "All-Knowing List." If we weren't lawyers, all questions, philosophical and practical, could be answered easily by the accumulated expertise of SoloSez®. As it is, we will just argue about them endlessly.
Q: What's the deal with Jim Tyre?
James S. Tyre was Special Counsel to the Electronic Frontier
Foundation who passed away on March 3, 2020. He was a tireless champion
of individual rights and a frequent contributor to Solosez. A tribute
to him may be found here:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/03/rip-eff-special-counsel-jim-tyre.
We miss him.
Q: There is an error on this list, or I think something should be added.
Contact the FAQ administrator, who can be reached at mike ("at" symbol) koeneckelaw.com.
- Version 1.00, 11/23/11: FAQ arbitrarily promoted to version 1.0 upon changeover to NetDocuments for document repository.
- Version 1.01, 12/05/11: Added bracketed subject indicators.
- Version 1.02, 01/08/12: Added comment on receiving copy of own posts, per Mark Peneguy.
- Version 1.03, 02/04/12: Added reference to Adminitrivia, trademark acknowledgment per setting up "SolosezFAQ" domain name.
- Version 1.04, 02/05/12: Added suggestion from Andy Simpson re: list volume.
- Version 1.05, 03/13/12: Added list moderator's e-mail address, modified to discourage spam.
- Version 1.06, 08/23/12: Added link to Andy Chen's SoloSez® map.
- Version 1.07, 12/12/13: Added link to Rick Rutledge's online SoloSez directory/spreadsheet, and "AKL".
- Version 1.08, 08/27/15: Added reference to Jim Tyre.
- Version 1.09, 10/16/18: Added link to the subscribe/unsubscribe page.
- Version 1.10, 07/23/19: Added ® marks per request.
- Version 1.20, 10/10/19: Updated location of SoloSez Documents to the new one, added note about missing map.
- Version 1.30, 12/09/19: Added Archives.
- Version 1.31, 10/19/20: Updated Jim Tyre and added Photos page.
- Version 1.32, 01/06/21: Added 2020 threads to Archives.
- Version 1.33, 03/13/23: Revised Archives location, as the ABA does not maintain them any more.
The contents of this page are not produced by the ABA, but are for the amusement of this online community.
Last Updated: October 19, 2020