December 2024
Dear POOPster:
It is time for the 38th Annual POOPlist. Yes, our numbers have shrunk some but if you’re willing, I’m willing. So . . .you POOPin’?
POOP, as you know, is entirely digitial, with Mark Zip pecking away at the keyboard to create the marvelous pooplist.net. Like last year, lists will be posted soon after Zip receives them, leaving my sole functions to be the herding cats and compiling the results (and, of course, sending out bothersome deadline reminders). Many of them. The deadline this year will be January23rd.
Please email your list to both Marks (Zip’s to either markzip@gmail.com or zipszig@hvc.rr.com and Mark Rosen’s to mark45rpm@aol.com). An early submission will allow Zip to get your list up reasonably quickly and me to start calculating your entries. All lists submitted two-minutes-before-deadline will still be accepted of course.
Nuts and bolts from Mark Zip to make his job less miserable:
* File name: FIRSTNAME-LASTNAME-Poop-2024 (for example: “Joe-Blow-Poop-2024.rtf”) If you want the actual document as presented on the page to be titled something else, that’s OK. Just write it out at the top of the list. e.g., “Stuff Joe Blow listened to in 2024, mostly to drive his kids crazy”
* Lists can be of any length but please do NOT use overly fancy formatting. Repeat: No overly fancy formatting.
* Keep Artist/Title/Record Company formatting consistent across all your categories. Thus, if you have bolded the artist in your first five entries, make sure they are bolded throughout. If you have italicized the album title, make sure all titles are italicized.
* If you want to include a link to an artist’s page or video, write out the link next to the item being linked. The usual links to the albums themselves will be provided as always.
* No pdf’s, no weird “publisher” documents or obscure file types. Plain text or .rtf preferred (see below) Exception: If you want to hand-write/draw you submission, scan it as a .pdf and we’ll put that up. Note that it will not necessarily look too good on mobile devices.
* Few, if any, two or three column tables.
* Few, if any, internal graphics. If you do want internal graphics, send them separately to Zip and tell him where they go.
* Graphics should be JPGs or PNGs only.
* Lists: RTF or TXT file types preferred. DOC if you absolutely insist. (All text editors and word processors can “Save as: .RTF”)
* * * * * Do your best to make this relatively easy for Zip. Basically keep your formatting simple, refrain from gimmicks and be consistent throughout. Try to use one of the formats listed. Questions or clarifications should be directed to Mark Zip directly at his email mark.zip@gmail.com
Again, DEADLINE is January 23rd. Recriminations and threats will fill your inbox at the discretion of this letter writer.
Donations to Mark Zip’s online POOP page are encouraged to help offset the fees and costs to maintain the site. There is a link on the site. Please help if you can. Venmo, PayPal, etc., etc. . Please take care of our facilitator since he takes care of us.
Be well. Stay safe. Have a wonderful Holiday Season. And Good Poopin’.
Mark Rosen
Speaker of the POOP