LISTSERVS/MAILING LISTS/ DISCUSSION GROUPS

Some mailing lists have low rates of traffic, others can flood your mailbox with several hundred mail messages per day. Numerous incoming messages from various listservers or mailing lists by multiple users, requires extensive system processing which can tie up valuable resources. Subscription to Interest Groups or Discussion Lists should be kept to a minimum and should not exceed what your disk quota can handle, or you for that matter.

• When you join a list, monitor the messages for a few days to get a feel for what common questions are asked, and what topics are deemed off-limits. This is commonly referred to as lurking. When you feel comfortable with the group, then start posting.

• See if there is a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for a group that you are interested in joining. Veteran members get annoyed when they see the same questions every few weeks, or at the start of each semester.

• Follow any and all guidelines that the listowner has posted; the listowner establishes the local "netiquette" standards for her/his list.

• Keep in mind that some discussion lists or Usenet groups have members from many countries.
  • Don't assume that they will understand a reference to TV, movies, pop culture, or current events in your country. If you must use the reference, please explain it.
  • Don't assume that they understand geographical references that are local or national.

• Don't join a list just to post inflammatory messages - this upsets most system administrators and you could lose access to the net ("mail bombing").

• Keep your questions and comments relevant to the focus of the discussion group.

• If another person posts a comment or question that is off the subject, do NOT reply to the list and keep the off- subject conversation going publicly.

• When someone posts an off-subject note, and someone else criticizes that posting, you should NOT submit a gratuitous note saying "well, I liked it and lots of people probably did as well and you guys ought to lighten up and not tell us to stick to the subject".

• When going away for more than a week, unsubscribe or suspend mail from any mailing lists or LISTSERV services.

• If you can respond to someone else's question, do so through email. Twenty people answering the same question on a large list can fill your mailbox (and those of everyone else on the list) quickly.

• When quoting another person, edit out whatever isn't directly applicable to your reply. Don't let your mailing or Usenet software automatically quote the entire body of messages you are replying to when it's not necessary. Take the time to edit any quotations down to the minimum necessary to provide context for your reply. Nobody likes reading a long message in quotes for the third or fourth time, only to be followed by a one line response: "Yeah, me too."

• Use discretion when forwarding a long mail message to group addresses or distribution lists. It's preferable to reference the source of a document and provide instructions on how to obtain a copy. If you must post a long message, warn the readers with a statement at the top of the mail message. Example: WARNING: LONG MESSAGE

• If you crosspost messages to multiple groups, include the name of the groups at the top of the mail message with an apology for any duplication.

• Resist the temptation to "flame" others on the list. Remember that these discussions are "public" and meant for constructive exchanges. Treat the others on the list as you would want them to treat you.

• When posting a question to the discussion group, request that responses be directed to you personally. Post a summary or answer to your question to the group.

• When replying to a message posted to a discussion group, check the address to be certain it's going to the intended location (person or group). It can be very embarrassing if they reply incorrectly and post a personal message to the entire discussion group that was intended for an individual.

• When signing up for a group it is important to save your subscription confirmation letter for reference. That way if you go on vacation you will have the subscription address for suspending mail.

• Use your own personal Email account, don't subscribe using a shared office account.

• Occasionally subscribers to the list who are not familiar with proper netiquette will submit requests to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE directly to the list itself. Be tolerant of this activity, and possibly provide some useful advice as opposed to being critical.

• Other people on the list are not interested in your desire to be added or deleted. Any requests regarding administrative tasks such as being added or removed from a list should be made to the appropriate area, not the list itself. Mail for these types of requests should be sent to the following respectively:

  LISTSERV GROUPS- LISTSERV@host

  MAILING LISTS - listname-REQUEST@host or listname-OWNER@host

  For either Mailing Lists or LISTSERV groups, to subscribe or unsubscribe, in the body of the message include:

  SUBSCRIBE listname yourfirstname yourlastname (To be added to the subscription) or UNSUBSCRIBE listname (To be removed from the subscription)

  For a complete listing of LISTSERV commands see the LISTSERV Owners Manual.

Permission to duplicate or distribute this document is granted with the provision that the document remains intact or if used in sections, that the original document source be referenced.