Dear spiders, I haven't been very active on the list for a while because of the war here in Gaza, my son's recent engagement, and a bad bout of whooping cough, but I do send private reminders. I want to remind you all of a few things because lately I've had to write more private emails than usual.
1. Please trim posts, especially if you're using a smartphone or tablet. (If you really don't know how, write to me privately and I'll find a tutorial or explain it to you.) This is important for two reasons. First, it ensures that the digest subscribers don't have to scroll through pages of stuff they've already read. Second, it keeps the content-to-noise ration high. The high level of content from extremely knowledgeable lacemakers, teachers, and scholars make this list a valuable resource. 2. Please try to keep the discussion related to lace. Discussion of lace teachers is fine, because lace-teaching is very specialized and pertinent. Discussion of, say, Catholic school uniforms would not be considered lace-related. If a non-lace thread only draws a few responses, I won't say anything. If it goes on for several days, it should be moved to lace-chat. Just for clarification, the lace-chat list is for chat between lace-makers, not chat about lace. So that's where the jokes, family events, trips to the Bahamas, etc., should be posted. (But trips to the V&A textile section could be posted here.) 3. If you are having technical difficulties with your subscription, email, character encoding, spam filters, whatever, feel free to write to me privately. If I am able and have the time, I will try to assist you. That's part of my volunteer job--moderating this list and providing behind-the-scenes support. Obviously, I may not be able to help you with something really big, like shopping for a new laptop or cleaning up a badly infected computer. I do have a day job and family! :-) I really don't mind providing limited computer support. 4. Please keep subject lines relevant. Digest subscribers, when you post to the list, remember to change the topic to the original subject line. If it's a new posting, think of a good subject line. This is important for finding messages in the archives and for allowing people to search for a topic. 5. Digest subscribers, when you reply to a message, please check that you are sending to the address "[email protected]." If you use any of the aliases, like [email protected], your message will appear on the list but it won't be archived. 6. We use a free archive service (http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]) which only archives messages sent to the correct address. The archive is searchable and can be read by thread or by date (links are in the upper left corner of the page). 7. If you are a dealer or you want to promote your latest book, a few lines in your sig is appropriate. If you want to sell a lot of lace-related stuff but you are not a dealer (for example, you're getting rid of a lot of old threads and bobbins or you're culling your book collection), you are welcome to post directly on the list. 8. I don't think anyone needs this reminder, but I'll throw it in anyway. A short sig with a few lines about yourself, your location, your blog, etc., is fine. A sig with your 500 favourite inspirational quotes or a detailed ASCII art depiction of the Titanic is not. So please be discrete. Thanks, Avital Arachne moderator -- Blog: http://apinnick.wordpress.com Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spindexr/sets - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
