Date:         Wed, 26 May 1999 09:24:05 -0400
Reply-To:     Ed Stevens <ejstevens@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ed Stevens <ejstevens@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Mailing List Manners 101 and 102
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I am passing this along with the permission of the Author, Adam Engst.
It recently appeared in Tidbits, a Macintosh related enews.  I think it
addresses many of the issues we see on our list.  These etiquette issues
are often best brought up without controversy or flames.

Save it or delete it as you wish.  Use it or not, entirely up to you.

I would think it would be a great addition to the subscribe message that
the listserver sends out to new subscribers.

The author specifically created this abbreviated version that subscribers
could cut and paste and send along to newslists.  Feel free to pass it
along.  IMHO the full versions are well worth reading.

cheers
ed stevens



************

   There are a number of things we can do to improve the quality of
   mailing lists for the benefit of all. Most of these
   recommendations are simple and require little extra work. If you'd
   like to read a more detailed rationale for these suggestions,
   check out the Mailing List Manners 101 and 102 articles published
   by TidBITS at:

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1141>

   Email Program Settings Suggestions:

* Turn off features (like VCards) that create attachments.
* Avoid sending HTML-formatted messages to lists.
* Send replies either to the sender or the list, but not both.
* Make sure the time is set properly on your computer.

   Writing and Layout Suggestions:

* Don't use all capital letters for more than a word or two.
* Insert blank lines between paragraphs.
* Include full URL schemes, as in <http://www.tidbits.com/>.
* Surround URLs with angle brackets.
* Try to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

   Message Content Suggestions:

* Never send unsubscribe commands to the list.
* Create and maintain descriptive subject lines.
* Quote original text sparingly in your replies.
* Don't include email attachments unless explicitly allowed.
* Use a short signature containing only essential data.
* Send welcome or congratulation messages via private email.
* Respect other people's news.
* Civility is always worthwhile.

   Thanks for helping to keep mailing lists useful and pleasant
   places!
************