Hi Guys,
These are some posting guidelines which Raj Mathur sent to the main LI list.
I feel that we should also follow the same guidelines. Many old timers are
familiar with these guidelines but i feel it will be helpful for the new
comers on the list ( especially after some unwanted incidents on the list )
.
-rutvik
> Here's some guidelines and rules for posting to these lists for
> comment. Feel free to adapt them to your style. However, unless
> there is a very compelling reason, try to adhere to these:
>
> Guidelines
> ----------
>
> - Format your message so that it fits within a 80-character window.
> Long lines don't wrap well on many mail clients and cause difficulty
> in reading your message.
>
> - Put a blank line between paragraphs. This makes your message easier
> to read and easier to reformat if necessary.
>
> - Do not indent the first line of a paragraph. If you follow the
> previous guideline, paragraph breaks will be evident.
>
> - Use full words, not abbreviations. In addition to being difficult
> to read, abbreviations raise questions about your commitment to what
> you're posting. Well-known acronyms are fine, but if you're not sure
> that your readers will understand the acronym, expand it.
>
> - Use a meaningful subject. A single word like ``Help!'' doesn't help
> in understanding the nature of the problem, and may be skipped by a
> person who may actually have been able to help you.
>
> - Change the subject if you're changing the content of the message
> drastically.
>
> - Quote the original, but with discretion. Give enough of the
> original message to make the context of your posting clear, but do not
> quote the whole original unless absolutely necessary.
>
> - Remove extras when quoting. If the quoted message contained a
> standard list trailer or a long signature, do remove it in your
> response. The trailer will get appended anew to your message in any
> case.
>
> - Use standard methods of quoting. Ideally, use ">" as the quote
> character. This adheres to the USENET and e-mail standard and makes
> it easy to distinguish multiple levels of quotes. This is also
> understood by most mail clients, who can then display the message
> properly. Using non-standard leading characters to distinguish quotes
> (e.g. "*", "|", etc) can confuse many mailers.
>
> - Use punctuation, but sparingly. Multiple "!" or "?" marks add no
> value to the message, but do succeed in turning off many recipients
> (yours truly included).
>
> - Use the following conventions to emphasise your text:
>
> This is *Bold text*
>
> This is /italicised text/
>
> This is _The_Name_of_a_Book_or_Magazine_
>
> This is SHOUTING AND NO ONE WILL LISTEN TO YOU IF YOU SHOUT!
>
> This is *an action I am doing*, e.g. *grinning, ducking and running*
>
> [The difference between *...* used for bold and for denoting actions
> is usually clear from context. In general, it is preferable to use
> /italics/ rather than *bold*]
>
> - Give enough information to help your reader to help you if you're
> posting about a problem. Statements like, ``My Apache doesn't work''
> are useless since they give no description of the problem, no idea
> about the methods you tried to identify the problem, and no
> information (logs, etc) which could help in diagnosing the problem.
> Give enough information (how did you set it up, what did you do to
> test it, what was the exact output, what did the logs contain, what
> versions of software/hardware were you using, etc) to enable remote
> diagnostics.
>
> On the other hand, do not just attach /var/log/messages to your
> message and expect people to download and wade through 11 MB of data.
> If you don't have the time or energy to select meaningful information,
> no one else has either.
>
> - Do not send personal messages on the list. Before you press the
> send button (or S key, or whatever your mailer uses), spend a moment
> to think about whether your message is of general interest or not. If
> it isn't, convert it into a personal message going only to the
> intended recipient and not to the list.
>
> - Research your facts before you post solutions to the list. If
> you're not sure of the solution to a problem, either do not post, or
> first make sure of all the steps and then post. If you cannot make
> sure, state very clearly in the message that you're not sure and that
> the user is trying your solution at his/her own risk. No solution is
> preferable to a wrong solution, which may cause immense damage.
>
> - Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes before you respond
> to a message. Ask yourself, ``Why did s/he write this? What exactly
> is s/he looking for?'' before jumping into a discussion. Do this
> especially if you're planning to respond at an emotional level --
> emotions are fine (we're not robots), but frequent public displays of
> strong emotion will have the effect of reducing your credibility.
>
> - Do prefix messages which result in financial gain for anyone with
> the tag [COMMERCIAL] in the subject line.
>
> - It's OK to post off-topic once in a while, but the subject of the
> message should be at least vaguely related to the interest of the
> list. E.g. looking for the e-mail of a fellow Linux coder whom you
> have lost touch with years ago is fine, but looking for a flat in
> Mumbai may not be. Prefix the subject of off-topic messages with the
> string [OFF-TOPIC].
>
> Rules
> -----
>
> - Do not post non-textual messages. Attachments such as HTML and
> graphics, etc are frowned upon and sending non-text attachments can
> result in your being banned from the list.
>
> - Any other rules?
>
> -- Raju
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