"Be liberal in what you accept, and conservative in what you send."
-- Jonathan Postel, January, 1980
Such words of wisdom.
I have just had chance to look at the mail in my BrailleNote folder, as I
do on roughly a weekly basis, and have been totally amazed at the number
of redundant messages I am seeing. Here is my take on the situation:
First - with some respect to those not familiar, it is unwritten law,
Netiquette, that you - as Mr. Postel rightly said - try to keep from the
list, to your best ability, what is rightfully not appropriate for it.
Yes, of course we can occasionally drift off-topic; yes, of course we can
occasionally find ourselves creeping in the odd request, inappropriate
information and sly reference to Greek politics, but the list managers
have specifically asked you to stay on-topic, and it is they who hold the
rulebook. Admittedly, the way in which the PulseData staff imparted your
responsibilities was, well, a little bit harsh. Nevertheless, it is
entirely true, and you are obligated - by appreciation of the internet's
rules of etiquette, if nothing else - to do so.
Secondly - yes, it is very much your responsibility to seek help from
wherever you can get it. If that means finding mailing lists and
subscribing to them for no purpose than to ask a single question, or to
search for the information, then that is what you must do. Ever heard of
the abbreviations RTFM or STFW? In this principle they are rooted.
Speaking personally, I handle very large quantities of mail, on more than
just blindness lists - in fact, the BrailleNote is the only blindness list
I'm on, and that is to my advantage as well as yours. I am very generous,
though I say so myself, compared to quite a lot of activists. I filter
less ruthlessly than many other folk in my position and by more than just
subject line, I allocate part of my sabbath to attending to any questions
and to making my feedback available in the best and most useful fashion
possible; I enjoy it, I hope you find it mutually useful. I will put up
with occasional off-topic postings, then, as by reference, association or
reasonable effort to minimise effective distraction on list - so, if you
show me that you have done your best, and include as much information in
as fewer messages possible what you have done, I'm more likely to help;
equally, I'm more inclined to help those who can give me the satisfaction
of resolving their particular questions by showing the courtesy to make my
life in finding messages which are related to each other easier and by
cutting out the clutter.
It is in human nature that we all make mistakes. But the extent to which
this thread has gone and the amount of time of mine it has consumed,
together with the malpractice and lack of netiquette demonstrated by a lot
of people here, is making me think again about whether this list has hit
the threshold for what, in the entire time I have been subscribed, will be
the second time. Please make an especially good effort to keep me from
unsubscribing on the grounds that I can't effectively answer your
questions. Be assured, that's the last thing I want to do.
Cheers,
Sabahattin
--
Thought for the day:
A penny saved is ridiculous.
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