-
Use informative subject headers. Be specific. Be
precise. Vague subject lines (or no subject lines) are
likely to be ignored or deleted.
-
Keep messages brief, to the point and meaningful. "Me,
too" and "Cool" sent to several hundred subscribers is a
waste of everyone's time.
-
Avoid using all capital letters. This is the equivalent
of SHOUTING (and considered rude). To emphasize a word
or phrase, place asterisks or use underscores around a
word. For instance, * word * or _ word _
-
Sign your messages with your full name and e-mail
address. Check your e-mail regularly. (No anonymous or
alter-ego posting).
-
Is your message something you want the rest of the world
to see? Confidential information does not belong on a
listserv. Nor do "flames". Flaming is the use of
emotionally loaded content. It is fine to discuss
controversial subjects, but personalizing the debate is
not.
-
When replying, summarize the original post selectively
so that subscribers understand the context for your
message. It is not necessary to quote the original post
in its entirety.
-
Read the "To:" line before you hit the
Send button. Know who you are replying to. Please note
that replying probably does NOT send
your reply to the entire list, but simply to the sender
of that message. Enter the list email address in the
"To:" line to send to the list. You
don't need to send also to the original sender of the
message, as they are likely also members of the list.
-
Reply to the individual sender when your response is not
relevant to the entire list.
-
Do not copy a ton of other people when you send to a
list, as they may already be members of the list. If you
have a list of members you would like to suggest to be
subscribers, send those email addresses to the
administrator and he/she can easily send an invitation
to all of them. Let them manage their own subscription
so they don't get multiple copies and so they can
opt-out if they don't want to read submissions to the
list.
-
Avoid sending attachments. If you must, include
"Attachment" in the Subject line.
-
Selling or advertising products and services on
listservs is considered rude and inappropriate.
-
Don't quote someone's private message without their
approval. Especially rude is to take a private message
and then respond to each line, pointing out how stupid
the other person is, and then post it on a public list.
-
Take care in your posting, use a email client that does
spell-checking. Remember, your message is going to 100's
of subscribers.
-
Please do not post from other blogs and avoid sending
"click-here" campaigns and other spam-like material to
the list.
-
Enjoy!
If you are not used to getting so much email from these
lists, please see
Managing List Email for some helpful suggestions.
