[vox] Re: [vox-announce] New mailing list rules

[Ken Bloom]

Just a couple comments.

On 2004.05.24 07:06, Henry House wrote:
> 	 b. Don't send email attachments
> 
> 		 Never send attachments GPG signatures are OK) to the

You appear to be missing open-parens before "GPG signatures".

> 		 lists.  If [-there's a file-] you [-wish-] {+want+}
> 		 to share {+some file+} with the [-club,-] {+club that
> 		 is too big to paste directly into your message, you
> 		 may put it up on you own website or+} contact the
> 		 webmaster[- and they-] {+, who+} may be able to post
> 		 the file to our [-website, at least-] {+website+}
> 		 temporarily.
> 
> 	 c. Use [-80 character-] {+76-character+} lines {+(or
> 	 shorter)+}
> 
> 		 Messages with lines greater than 80 characters are
> 		 [-unsightly-] {+unsightly, contrary to established
> 		 Internet standards,+} and hard to read for [-most-]
> 		 {+many+} of us. Make sure you use [-less-] {+fewer+}
> 		 than [-80-] {+74--76+} characters per line in your
> 		 messages, especially if you're using a Windows mail
> 		 client.
> 
> 	 [-2. Please-] {+You may need to turn on 'word wrapping' or a
> 	 simimilarly named feature. By starting with lines 74--76
> 	 characters long.  messages can+} be {+quoted in replies a few
> 	 times before reaching 80 characters.
> 
> Be+} polite
> 
> 	If you have an issue with some one, please keep it in private
> 	e-mail.  Always be polite and respectful of other people and
> 	their ideas on these lists. Never flame for any reason.
> 
> 	 [-3.-] {+NB: This is not a prohibition against expressing
> 	 your opinion, only about certain methods of expressing it.+}
> 
> Technical Assistance
> 
> 	[-The list manager is Bill-] {+Our vox mailing lists are
> 	administered by our mailing-list manager, currently Bill+}
> 	Kendrick. He manages / [-administrates-] {+administers+} the
> 	mailing lists and also enforces [-the rules.-] {+these rules
> 	(sometimes other LUGOD officers do this as well).+} If you
> 	have any problems or questions about the mailing lists, please
> 	contact him. By using vox-lists, you must agree to abide by
> 	the list administrator's wishes concerning the vox-lists.
> 
> 	 [-4.-]
> 
> {+Staying On-topic
> 
> 	 1.+} Use the right list; don't crosspost.
> 
> 		 Please don't crosspost between the different
> 		 vox-lists.  Also, don't crosspost between any of the
> 		 vox-lists and other non-LUGOD mailing lists.
> 
> 	 [-5.-]
> 
> 	 {+2.+} Off-Topic postings
> 
> 		 When posting a message that isn't particularly
> 		 related to Linux or the club, please prepend "[OT]"
> 		 (short for "Off-Topic") to the message's subject
> 		 line. (eg, "[OT] Dr. Who convention").  To help
> 		 reduce traffic, if you notice that a particular list
> 		 is having a high-volume day, please refrain from
> 		 posting off-topic messages altogether.

In practice, this applies only to vox. If something's OT for vox-tech,
it generally ends up on vox.

> 	 [-6.-]
> 
> 	 {+3. Do not start a new thread by replying to an unrelated
> 	 message Do not post a message that starts a new line of
> 	 discussion (thread) by replying to someone else's post and
> 	 changing the subject. Instead, use the 'compose new message'
> 	 or whatever equivalent command your mailer provides.

The rules should probably mention the fact that most vox-* users
use mail clients that can arrange threading into a nice tree to make
it easy to follow the discussion and see who replied to who. Point out
that this is annoying because it defeats this feature of the email
client. (It's most likely that the people who reply to messages to
start a new thread do so because they aren't aware of email clients
that organize messages by thread, and they don't run such an email
client.)

> 		 An example of this is asking a question, "How can I
> 		 learn how to run a web server on Linux?" by replying
> 		 to a message on "Re: Compiling PostgreSQL from source
> 		 on Debian". The two posts are completely unrelated.
> 		 On the other hand, it is a good practice to change
> 		 the subject line when the discussion in a thread
> 		 drifts to a new (but related) topic.
> 
> 		 A good test it this: did you quote relevant
> 		 discussion in your new message and author a response
> 		 to it? If the previous discussion was irrelevant to
> 		 your new post, then you should start a new thread
> 		 using 'compose new message', not 'reply'.
>

-- 
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See http://www.gnupg.org/ for info about these digital signatures.
My key was last signed 10/14/2003. If you use GPG *please* see me about
signing the key. ***** My computer can't give you viruses by email. ***