Welcome, fellow chicks & sisters! We are very pleased that you have joined our egroup listserve.
These are general guidelines to aid our group in functioning smoothly. Please, take the time to read and understand them. If need be, bookmark this page and return to read in sections.
The primary principle to keep in mind is consideration of the needs of other members of the list. The suggestions in these guidelines regarding format, frequency of postings, identifying yourself and responding to some messages by individual email instead of posting to the list all derive from this principle.
1. Culture of the list: We suggest becoming familiar with the culture and interests of the group and what kind of messages are regarded as appropriate. Individuals posting to the list speak for themselves, not an organization, unless stated explicitly. Personal criticism or attacks in response to any posting are not welcome on our discussion group.
2. Privacy: We encourage open expression, kindness and compassion. Since we enjoy
having a safe forum where people can feel free to discuss somewhat personal issues, it is very important to note that messages posted to the list may not be posted elsewhere, whether via email, message boards, websites, or any other form of communication. Should you see something you feel would benefit others outside of the list, please contact the author of the message privately and ask permission before sharing it.
3. Subject line: You must be as specific as possible in your subject line whether writing an original message or responding to a previous one. This is particularly important to keep in mind when you are receiving the digest form of our list. Some of our members may need to be extremely selective of the messages they read and it is essential to have a general idea of what the message is in reference to.
4. Text conventions: Set your outgoing email preferences to keep lines fewer than 60 characters long. This avoids the annoyance of messages with difficult-to-read broken lines. Do not type in all caps unless you intend to SHOUT. Put a space between paragraphs to make your message easier to read.
5. Identifying who you are: If your return email address does not identify readily who you are, please sign messages you post to the listserve (you may use a nickname or psudynome, if you wish). This is a courtesy to other list members who may wish to respond
to you personally. It is also nice to let people know what part of the country or world you are from.
6. Replying to the list: When responding to an earlier message posted to the listserve, do not incorporate the whole preceding message in the body of your response. (This is especially important for those of us with cognitive difficulties.) Excerpt or summarize in a sentence or two the specific points of preceding messages you are responding to. Please consider whether what you want to say may be more appropriately sent to the individual poster.
7. Forwarding articles or emails: Instead of forwarding an article or another email you have received, preferred practice is to copy and paste it (IF possible!) into the body of a new message. This avoids annoying chicken scratch markings on every line, sometimes double or triple. However you send a forward, always fill in your subject box and take the time to say in your message why what you are sending seems relevant. Identify what publication or source it is from.
8. Attachments: Many email users cannot open attachments. They are often also extremely large, causing annoyance and delay in downloading. Attachments are also the primary source for transmission of viruses. Do not send attachments to the listserve or open any that may be sent to the listserve by others. Listserve members are especially advised not to open attachments or click onto website URLS incorporated in messages from anonymous posters.
9. Volume of postings: Many email users are overburdened with a high volume of messages. Screen and be selective of what you pass on from other sources.
10. Virus hoaxes and petitions: Please check out any virus warnings you receive before posting information about them to the listserve. The Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) of the US Department of Energy keeps a record of known hoaxes at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org. Genuine viruses can be verified by consulting antivirus software websites such as Norton Antivirus at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter or McAfee ViruScan at http://vil.mcafee.com/default.asp.
Also, please do not post chain-letter-type petitions. Their source is often difficult to ascertain or may have disavowed the effort and their intended recipients are unlikely to get the message or a reliable signature count. However, petitions to print out and circulate for signatures and petitions giving website URLS to sign via email may be legitimate and
effective, so use your judgment in passing them on to the list.
