Alan:
>As listowner of this list, that would certainly be your prerogative,
>but I would not allow this on my lists -- even if the product or
>service was topical to the list.
This is a good point -- each mailing list manager makes the rules for his
or her own list. I should have checked with the list manager first -- my
dumb move!
Because of the Internet's non-commercial origins, some people mistakenly
think that the Internet shouldn't be used for commercial use, or that if
anyone is making any money off of something, it is wrong. Most list
managers I know don't hold this view, and allow postings that provide value
to the subscribers.
That's the rule I use -- would a subscriber gain valuable information from
this post? I am eager to learn about books and Web sites -- both items from
which people make money -- about managing lists (and especially about
people managing entire list sites). So I figured (perhaps incorrectly) that
other subscribers to this list would want to know about new sources of
list-management information. That's what we are all here for -- to get
ideas and answers about list management.
And don't worry -- if you think I'm gonna make big bucks from this book
(although I'd love to be proven wrong), I'll be stunned.
But Alan makes an important point: The list manager makes the rules. List
rules vary widely, in requirements for on-topic postings, for tone, for
commercial content, for adherence to copyright law, and for volume of
messages. Different rules work for different lists.
>Is there a chapter in her book that touches
>upon this situation? Does the book address personal solicitations by
>subscribers in discussion mailing lists? How does she advise us to
>handle the so-called spammer or commercial solicitor on her lists?
Yes, the book talks a bunch about this. Part of the book is nuts and bolts
stuff about participating in and managing mailing lists, newsgroups, chat
rooms, and message boards. But there are also chapters on publicizing a
community, encouraging participation by subscribers, responding to
dissension, privacy, spam, copyright, and other higher-level issues.
If a subscriber posts spam (commercial, religious, or other e-mail that is
unrelated to the topic of the list), the manager may warn the spammer
privately, then eject him/her after a second offense. I don't recommend
having the argument on-list, since the other subscribers usually don't want
to hear about it. The manager may switch the subscriber to be moderated, if
the list management software supports this options. If the manager ejects
the subscriber, s/he may make suspension temporary or permanent, depending
on whether the subscriber has participated in other ways, or whether
sending spam was the subscribers only involvement in the list.
Hope this clarifies my thinking!
Margy Levine Young <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Coauthor of "The Internet For Dummies" <http://net.gurus.com> and "Poor
Richard's Building Online Communities" <http://www.topfloor.com>. Looking
for kids' videos? Check out <http://www.greattapes.com>
