Re: OT-CHAT: Subject Tags Abolished?

The policy has not changed, it is my lack of attention recently that is the source of the problem.
I need to remind all posters that Subject tags, as defined in the Welcome Message that everyone gets when they subscribe to the list, are a necessary part of the posts.
I attach the section from the Welcome message below, and thank you Anner for bringing it to my attention.
Please use the tags as they are given; do not invent variations. If the practice loses its consistency, it will also lose much of its usefulness. I know this is a long listing, but that is a reflection of the breadth and variety of our discussions. Don't be intimidated; they will become quickly familiar after a short time. Try to use the tag that fits your message best. It is often appropriate to combine a tag from the first set (types of irises) with one from another set. If nothing fits, don't worry. Pick the best you can.
Remember, the format is the tag in ALL CAPS followed by a colon (:), followed by your subject. (no space between the subject tag and the colon) 

[Subject tag]:[your subject description]
The colon is a very important part of the tag. The standard tags are below. You might want to print this for reference. 


TB:  tall bearded irises
MED:  median and dwarf bearded irises
AR:  arilbred and aril irises
SIB:  Siberian irises
LA:  Louisiana irises
JI:  Japanese irises
SPU:  spuria irises
PCN:  Pacific coast native irises
BULB: bulb irises (Dutch, reticulatas, Junos)
SPEC: iris species (particularly those not covered in another category)

REB:  reblooming irises
SA:  space-age irises
HIST: historic irises and history of iris development

CULT: culture
HYB:  hybridizing
REF:  references (books and society publications)
SHOW: iris shows and related topics
IRC:  IRC chat sessions (currently Friday nights)
AIS:  American Iris Society business and issues
PHOTO: iris photography
COMP: iris-related computer topics (record keeping, photo digitizing, etc.) 
CAT:  iris catalogs and discussion of commercial nurseries
AD:  iris-related advertisement (ads not related to irises are *not*
welcome!)
TRADE: Posts to the list offering trades or looking for a particular iris. Replies to these posts should be made off-list privately to the original sender. 

OT-PLANTS: other garden plants (not irises)
OT-ART:  iris-motif art and craftwork
OT-HUMOR: iris-related humor
OT-CHAT: personal messages and conversation (consider taking it off- list!) OT-BIO: introduction from a new subscriber (please follow with your name) 
ADMIN: list administration issues (reserved for the list owner)


On May 23, 2007, at 7:43 AM, ChatOWhitehall@aol.com wrote:


Greetings.
I'd like to ask whether the list policy mandating the use of subject tags on all posts to which they can reasonably be said to apply has been abolished.
For some years there has been a policy that subject tags shall be used, and a list of these has been sent to new members of the list by the list owner in 
the Welcome Message.
The subject tags are those groups of letters that precede the actual subject of the posting in the posting subject line. The author of the post selects 
the subject tag.
At intervals there have been minor grumblings--- why I don't know since adding tags is a simple enough courtesy for a poster to accord fellow members who may choose to screen, sort, delete, or otherwise control incoming list 
mail---but the use of these tags has been reaffirmed by  consensus.
I like the subject tags. I use them in all the aforementioned ways. They are also useful when searching the Archives. I like the way tags keep things tidier. I suspect if folks are obliged to categorize their own outgoing post with the use of a tag, it cuts down on unfocused, wholly impressionistic, and/or 
extraneous posts.

Similarly, we have long had a convention on this list that folks shall
include some information about where they garden in any post involving cultural issues. Ideally, a person will include the town, state, and country, with USDA hardiness zone, or equivalent. These last are not invariably common knowledge to all on the list. We have always encouraged sensitivity to the experiences 
of other irisarians around here, and this means  people everywhere.
Mrs. Figge used to handle the chore of nagging folks about USDA zones, but she, alas is no longer here. I hate to nag, in fact I won't do it, but I really do think that without some indication of where you are gardening, your fellow list members cannot evaluate what you say for soundness, or for relevance to their own gardening conditions. Neither can they help you should you ask them to take their time to read your post, and respond to your concerns.
Absent any indication that we did away with tags, I'd like to ask those who do not have a copy handy please to ask the list owner to resend the Welcome 
Message and reread it.
If you are a new member but, for some reason, did not receive the Welcome Message, please ask the list owner for a copy. He is John I. Jones, at 
_jijones@usjoneses.com_ (j*@usjoneses.com)
I thank you very much for your attention, and your kind consideration. 

Cordially,

Anner Whitehead
Richmond VA USA--no Zone included, because there are no cultural issues 
discussed.
************************************** See what's free at http:// www.aol.com. 

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