Below are the posting guidelines for the Advanced .NET list. These will be posted periodically to the list to help posters form messages so they will be accepted on to the list without alot of emails between them and a moderator resolving various issues. They also help moderators maintain consistency between what is accepted on to the list.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- The Advanced DOTNET List is a moderated list. This means that a human reads and approves, or rejects, every message that is sent to the list. This particular list has a number of moderators who participate in moderating on voluntary basis. All moderators are DevelopMentor .NET Instructors. A list with Advanced in the title has some issues for people posting messages - most importantly what does Advanced" mean and what topics are correct for the list. To give guidance for those posting as to what is likely to be accepted and rejected below are the criteria that we use to decide whether a message gets approved. 1. If the message is a reply to an existing thread, and is still on-topic for .NET, it will be accepted. 2. If the message is obviously of an advanced nature - for example, some of the more murky areas of Code Access Security, - it will be accepted. 3. If the post is off-topic (not .NET related) it will be rejected. 4. If the message has been cross posted to other lists it will be rejected. This is to ensure discussion threads remain non-fragmented. 5. If the question is on an area specifically covered by another list, and that list has not yet been tried, the post will be rejected. 6. If the poster has made no attempt to find the answer themselves (obviously this fact must be apparent from the message - detailing things tried or sources consulted), it will most likely be rejected. 7. If a thread has deteriorated into a slanging match, all further posts on the thread will be rejected and the posters will be advised to take the discussion up privately or on DOTNET-ADVOCACY. 8. If a thread has become a circular argument, essentially just two camps with opposing points of view with no agreement in sight, all further posts onthe thread will be rejected and the posters will be advised to take the discussion up privately or on DOTNET-ADVOCACY. 9. If the question is of an obviously very basic nature, the post will be rejected. 10. If the post does not have a descriptive subject line (e.g. "Help!" or blank), the message will be rejected. 11. If the post simply says "It failed" or "it threw an exception", without including the nature of the failure, and in the event of an exception, a stack trace, the post will be rejected. 12. If the post is a response to a question that repeats information already posted by others, it will be rejected. 13. If the question is one that the moderator knows has been asked and answered on this list, or another list, before - it will be rejected and the poster will be asked to search the archives. 14. If the post is of a commercial nature, it will be rejected. 15. In the post hits a grey area in terms of this policy, the moderator will err on the side of acceptance to ensure maximum participation in the list. All though this may appear to be mainly a long list of ways in which your message can be rejected, it must be stated that the majority of posts are accepted and these guidelines should help you form the post such that your message gets accepted. In the case of rejection, in most cases, the moderator will reply to your message stating why it has been rejected and stating either an alternative list to take it to, or how to change the message such that it will be accepted (for example it may be that the title is simply "HELP!" and we'd like something a bit more descriptive). In general, posters should attempt to resolve the problem, search the archives of the lists hosted at discuss.develop.com, and try lists that cover the area specifically (e.g. if it is an ASP.NET question, try DOTNET-WEB). If they are still unable to find a solution, post to the Advanced DOTNET list stating what has already been tried (prevents people from suggesting things you have already done, and means the post is unlikely to be rejected on the basis of Item No. 6). Preferably post example code that illustrates the issue. If you are explaining a situation in which an exception is thrown, include a stack trace in the message. If you are explaining some other failure, include the nature of the failure and, if known, what the code was doing at the time. Finally, the moderators are human and make mistakes. If your post gets rejected and then something, say, very basic appears on the list, it is not a vendetta against you, it is simply that one of the moderators made a mistake allowing a post though that should have been rejected. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Regards Advanced .NET List Moderators --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.391 / Virus Database: 222 - Release Date: 19/09/2002 You can read messages from the Advanced DOTNET archive, unsubscribe from Advanced DOTNET, or subscribe to other DevelopMentor lists at http://discuss.develop.com.
