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The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette - by Arlene Rinaldi
LISTSERVS/MAILING LISTS/ DISCUSSION GROUPS
Some mailing lists have low rates of traffic, others can flood your mailbox with several hundred mail messages per day. Numerous incoming messages from various listservers or mailing lists by multiple users, requires extensive system processing which can tie up valuable resources. Subscription to Interest Groups or Discussion Lists should be kept to a minimum and should not exceed what your disk quota can handle, or you for that matter.
* When you join a list, monitor the messages for a few days to get a
feel for what common questions are asked, and what topics are deemed
off-limits. This is commonly referred to as lurking. When you feel
comfortable with the group, then start posting. * See if there is a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for a group that
you are interested in joining. Veteran members get annoyed when they
see the same questions every few weeks, or at the start of each
semester. * Follow any and all guidelines that the listowner has posted; the
listowner establishes the local "netiquette" standards for her/his
list. * Keep in mind that some discussion lists or Usenet groups have members
from many countries. * Don't assume that they will understand a reference to TV,
movies, pop culture, or current events in your country. If you
must use the reference, please explain it.
* Don't assume that they understand geographical references that
are local or national. * Don't join a list just to post inflammatory messages - this upsets
most system administrators and you could lose access to the net
("mail bombing"). * Keep your questions and comments relevant to the focus of the
discussion group. * If another person posts a comment or question that is off the
subject, do NOT reply to the list and keep the off- subject
conversation going publicly. * When someone posts an off-subject note, and someone else criticizes
that posting, you should NOT submit a gratuitous note saying "well, I
liked it and lots of people probably did as well and you guys ought
to lighten up and not tell us to stick to the subject". * When going away for more than a week, unsubscribe or suspend mail
from any mailing lists or LISTSERV services. * If you can respond to someone else's question, do so through email.
Twenty people answering the same question on a large list can fill
your mailbox (and those of everyone else on the list) quickly. * When quoting another person, edit out whatever isn't directly
applicable to your reply. Don't let your mailing or Usenet software
automatically quote the entire body of messages you are replying to
when it's not necessary. Take the time to edit any quotations down to
the minimum necessary to provide context for your reply. Nobody likes
reading a long message in quotes for the third or fourth time, only
to be followed by a one line response: "Yeah, me too." * Use discretion when forwarding a long mail message to group addresses
or distribution lists. It's preferable to reference the source of a
document and provide instructions on how to obtain a copy. If you
must post a long message, warn the readers with a statement at the
top of the mail message. Example: WARNING: LONG MESSAGE * If you crosspost messages to multiple groups, include the name of the
groups at the top of the mail message with an apology for any
duplication. * Resist the temptation to "flame" others on the list. Remember that
these discussions are "public" and meant for constructive exchanges.
Treat the others on the list as you would want them to treat you. * When posting a question to the discussion group, request that
responses be directed to you personally. Post a summary or answer to
your question to the group. * When replying to a message posted to a discussion group, check the
address to be certain it's going to the intended location (person or
group). It can be very embarrassing if they reply incorrectly and
post a personal message to the entire discussion group that was
intended for an individual. * When signing up for a group it is important to save your subscription
confirmation letter for reference. That way if you go on vacation you
will have the subscription address for suspending mail. * Use your own personal Email account, don't subscribe using a shared
office account. * Occasionally subscribers to the list who are not familiar with proper
netiquette will submit requests to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE directly
to the list itself. Be tolerant of this activity, and possibly
provide some useful advice as opposed to being critical. * Other people on the list are not interested in your desire to be
added or deleted. Any requests regarding administrative tasks such as
being added or removed from a list should be made to the appropriate
area, not the list itself. Mail for these types of requests should be
sent to the following respectively:LISTSERV GROUPS- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MAILING LISTS - [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For either Mailing Lists or LISTSERV groups, to subscribe or
unsubscribe, in the body of the message include: SUBSCRIBE listname yourfirstname yourlastname (To be added to the
subscription) or UNSUBSCRIBE listname (To be removed from the
subscription)Return to --The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette --Index
Permission to duplicate or distribute this document is granted with the provision that the document remains intact or if used in sections, that the original document source be referenced.
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Copyright 1998, Arlene Rinaldi + Florida Atlantic University http://wise.fau.edu/netiquette/net/netiquette.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks http://fn.swiki.net http://www.ryze.com/go/fredericknoronha http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Difficulties to send email across? Write to fredericknoronha at vsnl.net ============================================================================
