Hi All As I forgot to post this last month I'm making sure I do it early this month. There's also a FAQ section included - a more comprehensive version exists on the MOQ.ORG site. There is also a link to: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html which is very comprehensive. ***************************************************** MOQ_DISCUSS CHARTER The MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list exists to provide a general and free- ranging forum for the discussion of Robert M. Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality. The MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list is an unmoderated mailing list. Members should observe the Rules of the list in order that discussions can be conducted in in a civilized and reasonably courteous manner. Members are encouraged to become involved in dialogue and debate but are requested to refrain from flaming and abusive behaviour of all kinds. 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Pirsig. 2) All topics and discussions must be relevant to the Metaphysics of Quality in general or some particular aspect of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance or Lila. 3) Each member should limit the number of posts they submit to a maximum of four per day. 4) Members should reproduce only the relevant parts of any previous message to which they are responding. 5) Contributors should reproduce the Subject line of the thread/discussion to which they are replying. 6) Where possible, posts should be restricted to plain text - no HTML, Rich Text (RTF) or other formats should be used. 7) Posts may not contain attachments, gifs or other documents except by arrangement with the list administrator. MOQ_DISCUSS should not be used as a file transfer or document exchange service. Use FTP or the Web (put your file/document on the Web and mail the list its URL). 8) Members should refrain from swearing, using offensive language and personal attacks on other members. Abuse, in any form, will not be tolerated. **************************************************** MOQ.ORG FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) How does this mailing list work? It's an email-based discussion group. When you email the list your mail is distributed to all the other people who have subscribed to this group, so we can all join in the dialog together. You are welcome to jump into any discussions that interest you or you can initiate your own. If you've never been a member of a mailing list before we suggest you check out this page on netiquette (ie Net-etiquette): http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html which tells you the commonly accepted standards of behaviour on mailing lists. How do I post to this list? Send an email to the mailing list's email address exactly the same way as you would send an email to a friend. You can use any email program - Eudora, MS Outlook, Netscape mail etc. This list's email address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Our computer will automatically add the prefix MD to your post, you don't have to do that yourself. The prefixes are intended help you separate your MD mail from the rest of your mail. How do I unsubscribe from this list? Send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe moq_discuss in the body of the mail. Don't write anything else in the email. The subject line will be ignored so you can write anything you want or leave it blank. Why do you have two mailing lists on MOQ.org? The MOQ.org mailing lists - MOQ_discuss (MD) and the Lila Squad (LS) - serve two very different purposes. The MD is a straightforward discussion group. It is unmoderated and you are free to raise and discuss any topic related to the MOQ. The LS is run as a series of workshops. Each month we take a single question and investigate it to the exclusion of all else. The LS is moderated so if you send a post that is not directly related to the monthly PROGRAM then it will not be allowed into the discussion. The two mailing lists each have advantages and disadvantages.The amount of mail on the LS is far less than on the MD and it's is easier to keep track of the dialog because the topic is the same for the whole month. The LS also tends to examine topics in greater depth than the MD. However, on its own, the LS would be too restrictive so the MD is a necessary balance to it. The MOQ discussion is free-flowing and all MOQ related posts are allowed. The dialog moves very rapidly and covers a lot of ground, but the mail load can be heavy and the signal to noise ratio tends to be lower. You can see the MD as the place for dynamic exploration, while the LS aims for high-quality static latching. Or, you can see MD as what you'd normally expect from a mailing list and the LS as a dynamic attempt to break free of static patterns. Or, you can see LS as an option for those who only have an hour or two a week to devote to the group and simply can't keep up with the MD. The main thing is to realise they are complementary to each other, not in competition. You can join either one or both, but we do ask that you respect the distinctions between them and help us make them both good in their respective ways. I've posted to the mailing lists several times and nobody has responded, why not and what should I do? The lack of face-to-face interaction on the Internet means that it can be difficult to gauge other people's reactions to your posts. There may well be people reading and learning from your posts -- you just can't tell. Don't take it personally and keep on posting. Keep your posts relevant, well-informed and courteous and you'll soon win the respect of the group. Somebody has made a nasty, sarcastic reply to one of my posts, what should I do? This is a philosophy discussion group and there's really no need for this kind of behaviour, but still, it happens. Don't waste your energy on it. Either reply calmly asking for clarification, or ignore it and devote your time to something more constructive instead. How can I send an essay for the Forum on the MOQ.org website? Send it to the webmaster, ie Diana ([EMAIL PROTECTED]), preferably in plain text in the body of an email. Please don't use any fancy formatting unless essential because we'll just have to undo it all to convert it to HTML for publishing on the web. How can I send a bio for the Members page on the website? Send it to Diana, as above. What is the copyright situation regarding posts and essays? MOQ.org retains the right to publish all posts submitted to our mailing lists in our archives only and the right to publish essays submitted to our Forum on our website only. We will not use your contributions in any other publication or media without your written consent. All contributors will retain copyright over their own work. That means you are free to sell it to other publishers if you wish, and if anyone plagiarises your work or reproduces it without your permission it will constitute a breach of copyright. How can I help you develop MOQ.org? If you've only just joined we suggest you hang around for a few weeks and get to know us. If you understand what we've done in the past and what we're doing now you'll be able to contribute more effectively. If, after the honeymoon period is over, you're still interested, think of what you can do constructively to develop MOQ.org. If you can't think of anything specific but you still want to help, email us because we have a long list of things that we would like to do but never get round to. This is an abridged version of the FAQ that appears on the MOQ.org website at: http://www.moq.org/faq.html. 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