Please read through the following guidelines completely. If you do not agree with or cannot abide by them please unsubscribe to the list. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to my regular members. I'm hoping that this will make for a stronger and more prosperous list.
Do NOT post messages to our mailing list until you have read and agree to the rules set forth. Knowing the "rules" can stop a lot of problems before they begin. 1) This list is self-regulating. That means that if a member violates any of these rules, other members may send private emails reminding that member of the rule. Do not post such reminders to the list. Most guideline violations are unintentional and should be treated lightly. In the rare instance in which a member repeatedly or maliciously violates guidelines, a post to the entire list may be appropriate to bring sufficient pressure to bear or to expel the violator from the list. 2) Flaming or bashing other members is inappropriate on any list. If people are verbally assaulting each other on the list, it isn't going to feel very supportive, is it? Personal disagreements should not be aired on the list. Personal disagreements are those dealing with personal offense, or criticisms of another's tone or attitude. Disagreements dealing with non-personal issues such as how big a hard drive should be or whether or not you should have an IBM compatible or an IMac is likely to be helpful in some cases and should be posted to the list so that everyone can gain from the opinions of others. Do not send "take it off the list" mails to the list. 3) Venting one's emotions is often necessary when dealing with computer issues. We all know how frustrating it can be. It often helps just to be able to get something off your chest. Please note that I have listed this site as "Safe for kids" so you never know who's receiving your post. Besides, there are dozens of ways to vent without being obscene. We're there to help you through those times when you need to vent, but please remember to state that you are venting in the subject line of your post. This assures other members that you are not attacking anyone, but only expressing your feelings at a very stressful time. 4) Please refrain from using harsh profanity on the list. At the same time, please understand that posts marked as Vents may contain harsh wording which reflect the author's state of mind. 5) We strive to provide courteous support to a very diverse mixture of people. We have members of all ages and races. Our members may be married, single or something in between. We have members of different sexual preferences, religious beliefs and political affiliations. Please keep this in mind when posting to the group. 6) When writing vents, please try to avoid gross generalizations of people. The group is very diverse, and there is a good chance that someone's feelings will be hurt. If you are about to make a generalization, a good way to tell whether this would be offensive is to replace the body of people you are discussing with "all women" or "every person in the world". If the result is a phrase that you could not say on a public podium, your generalization is probably going to be offensive to someone on the list. 7) We are a community made up of those struggling with both new user issues and in depth veteran issues. Both classifications of people are equally welcomed to the list. 8) For those who wish to discuss specific issues or concerns, feel free to contact me directly at bi...@optonline.net . I will try to respond to your messages within a reasonable time frame. 9) Please post personal messages to the individual, not to the list. By personal messages we are referring to those of a strictly personal nature, such as posts of congratulations or condolence, notes regarding any issue not computer related. Replies to personal requests for advice are welcomed on the list if the advice may be useful to other members as well, but if they are strictly personal (i.e., "don't have a real answer, but good luck", or "me, too") they should be sent only to the individual. It would be a shame if a member had to give up the list at work because of extreme mail volume. 10) Please try not to offer unsolicited advice - It can appear confrontational. Conversely, if you are asking for advice/opinions/ experiences on an issue, please make it very clear that you welcome different perspectives. 11) If you reply to a request for opinions/advice etc., always avoid quoting someone else's post on the subject. To ensure that it is clear you are giving your opinion only on the subject, not directly challenging another member, use the original subject line, but not the post. If you are in disagreement with a reply, quoting the reply can appear confrontational. 12) Posts go to the list on the basis that we trust each other. If you would like to share a post with another list or a newsgroup, please get the consent of the original author of the post beforehand. In the same light, if you wish to share a message that was sent to you privately with other members of the group or any other individuals, please ask the consent of the original author before doing so. 13) Avoid including another person's entire post in your reply - quote only the appropriate part(s) and delete out all of the previous post except the part you are responding to. This helps to keep the size of our messages to a practical minimum, avoids overloading the server, and also helps digest readers in understanding and following threads of messages. Please do not reply to something in the digest by quoting the entire digest in your reply. 14) Please limit binaries or file attachments sent to the list. This is extremely important. They are unreadable for people who don't have a decoding facility and are sometimes so big that they cause mail programs to crash. If you have a large file or a binary (pictures, sounds, etc.) you wish to share, let the list know about it and send it by private email if requested. Some email programs post items that appear as attachments by default. (i.e. calling cards). If you're told that all of your posts to the list are coming with an attachment, please write to the group asking for someone to help you change the settings in your email program to avoid the attachment. Also please check your email program to make sure your posts are not being sent in HTML. HTML posts are hard to read in many mail programs, and are distorted in the digest version. If you don't know how to change this setting, someone on the list can help you. 15) Do not cross-post. Cross posting means including the Computer Tech address along with other recipients when sending a post. While this is very convenient for the poster, if one person receiving the post "replies to all" the new message will be delivered to everyone receiving the original post. 16) Please don't send any chain letters, jokes, urban legends, get rich quick posts or recipes to the list. Regardless of how legitimate or heart enching they might sound. The vast majority are hoaxes. Please contact the list owner with your concern or check out http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html if you still have the urge to post them. 16) Advertising a product with the intent to supply on behalf of a company for profit (even if it is your own) is liable to lead to flames. There is no problem with discussing products you have found helpful which in turn may help others, but should you wish to offer to supply a product, this must be done privately and not on the list. Please keep a copy of this message handy so that you may refer to it in the future. Thank you for your consideration List Owner Bixen ------------------------------------ If you have any questions or problems with any aspect of this site, please feel free to contact me directly bi...@optonline.net Please do not post personal issues directly to the group. To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to a-1-computer_tech-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com Thank you for using A-1 Computer TechYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-1-Computer_Tech/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-1-Computer_Tech/join (Yahoo! 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