ADMIN: please read
- Subject: ADMIN: please read
- From: t*@Lanl.GOV (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 96 09:29:57 MST
Hi. It may be worth repeating the following items from
the welcome message to this list:
>In addition, there are a few common courtesies that you should
>observe as a member of a mailing list:
>* Use a descriptive subject line on your messages, so that
>other subscribers can choose the messages that interest them.
>* Sign your messages with your real name and email address,
>as a minimum. Some subscribers can see this information in
>the header of your message, others cannot.
>* Don't post excessively long messages.
SUBJECT LINES: These are important. Some subscribers are already
a little overwhelmed by the mail from this list (although it is
pretty light compared to other internet mailing lists). A good,
descriptive subject line allows people with limited time to know
if they can skip the message or not. Please note the subject line
when you reply to a message and change it if necessary. Threads
can wander far away from the original topic, making the subject
line misleading if it's not changed.
SIGNATURE: It is important to put your actual name and email
address in the body of your message. Some email programs don't
show all the header information, so folks need to know who's saying
what. Full names are better than first names. There's over 60
people here already; we can't count on a first name being meaningful.
You might also want to include other helpful information, such as where
you live. Most email programs allow you to create a signature file,
which makes this automatic.
LONG MESSAGES: There's nothing wrong with having a lot to say.
(I've been known to carry on quite a bit myself), but watch out if
your email program appends or quotes the message you're replying to.
You should quote just enough of the original message to give context;
usually this means much less than the entire message.
This is not a reprimand, folks, just a reminder. Actually, we're doing
great: this list is functioning more smoothly than most I've participated
in. But please do keep the above points in mind, or re-read your
welcome message from time to time: it will probably mean more after
you've been on the list for a week or two than it did when you first
subscribed.
Following these suggestions will make the list more comprehensible
to newcomers, and more manageable for all of us.
Happy irising all, Tom.
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Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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