 View Page StatsSee who's visiting this page. |
People who participate on listservs, whether hosted by Topica or Yahoo or by a university, seem at times to not be aware of ways to use a list intelligently while avoiding antagonizing listserv old-timers. This page is an attempt to address the lack of guidance given to some subscribers.Email Universe has a very good list of suggestions for list users and list owners. I suggest that anyone considering joining or running a list take a look.
Dr. Richard Hake, a member of several academic lists related to physics and physics teaching, is largely responsible for the following suggestions:
THIRTEEN POSTING SUGGESTIONS (Original post by R.R. Hake, 12 October 2002, summarized by Jane Jackson, 14 October 2002, and modified slightly by Keith Tipton, 16 October 2002): 1. SEARCH THE ARCHIVES OF THE LIST BEFORE ASKING A QUESTION OR OPENING A NEW TOPIC (it may already have been discussed). 2. Use subject headings that accurately convey the topic of the post (especially important for following threads in archive searches). If you are replying to a post whose subject heading follows an established thread such as "Why Physics First?" and you think the subject of your post would be better stated as "Some Questions Regarding Nomenclature" then give the subject in the thread preserving form [Some Questions Regarding Nomenclature was "Why Physics First?"] (without the [...]). 3. INDICATE THE SPECIFIC POST (date, discussion list, title, and name of poster) TO WHICH YOU ARE RESPONDING. 4. For those blessed with LISTSERV archives, SETS of referenced posts can be given with a single URL by using the archive search engine to specify the characteristics of the set. 5. Quote or repeat only the relevant sections of the post to which you are responding and not the complete post (as may occur when you hit the "reply" button - The HIT-REPLY-BUTTON SYNDROME is the bane of discussion lists. It litters the lists with superfluous already posted once >, twice >>, thrice >>>, etc., etc. material. 6. NEVER send attachments to lists (they will often appear as pages of code and may introduce viruses). Instead, place the attachment on a web page and give subscribers the URL. 7. NEVER send messages in HTML or "enriched text." Some subscribers may receive your message interspersed with HTML tags so that it is difficult to read. Check your mail-system's settings to be sure you are NOT sending mail to discussion lists only in HTML or in a double posting first in ASCII and the in HTML. 8. GIVE COMPLETE AND ACCURATE SETS OF REFERENCES. 9. Give URL's as "<http://www......>" (note the angle brackets) so that they will survive line breaks and are hot-linked [note that <www.....> is NOT hot-linked]. Doublecheck all URLs in your message to be sure they work and do not have a misspelling or typographical error. 10. Use a BRIEF signature that includes your affiliation, mailing address, and (if you have one) your homepage. 11. Carefully proofread posts prior to posting - check English, spelling (especially NAMES), and grammar; remove all ambiguous and offensive material. 12. EXAMINE THE ADDRESS IN THE "TO" SLOT. Do you really want to send private correspondence to an entire list of subscribers? 13. Pause a few minutes to review your post before sending it.
|