MDM Reference • Message received
Message Received
Thank you. Your message has reached the compendium desk, and a member of the staff will read it in the order in which it arrived.
What follows
Messages are read against the register of correspondence and are answered in sequence. If your message concerns a correction to the text, it will be checked against the primary literature before any change is made. If it concerns scope, permissions or a broken page, it will be passed to the suitable member of the desk.
If you do not hear from us
Replies are usually sent within a few working days, though a fuller enquiry may take longer. If a week passes without a reply, a second message is welcome, and it is helpful to quote the subject of the first so that the two can be joined. A message left outside office hours is held until the next working day.
While you wait
The reference may be explored by way of the ten cells in the header. A reader new to the compendium often begins at the foundations of inference and moves in order, but any cell may be entered first. The glossary holds the symbols in common across the essays, and the about page states the scope of the whole reference.
Your details
The name, reply address, subject and message you supplied are used only to answer your enquiry. They are not added to any list for other purposes, and they are not shared outside the desk. The privacy policy states in full how correspondence is handled.
A reminder of scope
The desk reads every message with care, but the reference itself is academic and expository. It presents statistical theory and does not provide guidance for any particular person or circumstance. A message that asks for such guidance will receive a courteous explanation rather than an answer, and the desk is grateful for the reader understanding this boundary.
Returning to the reference
You may return to any essay from the header at the top of this page. The cells are numbered from one to ten, and the cell of the page you are reading is marked. If you wish to send a further message, the contact page carries the form again, and the address, telephone number and mailbox of the Compendium Office.
Keeping a record of your message
It helps the desk if you keep a copy of what you sent, together with the date on which you sent it. Should a reply go astray, the copy lets the desk find the original and answer it without asking you to write again from the start. A message that quotes its own subject line is answered most swiftly of all.
If your message contained a correction
A correction is checked against the primary literature before any change is made, and the check may take a little time. If the desk agrees with the report, the essay is amended quietly and the editorial record of the cell notes the change. You will be told either way, and a correction that is not adopted will be explained.