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This is a copy of rules for the ``clarissa'' mailing list as of 28 Oct 96. Everyone who subscribes to the list receives a copy of this file. I reproduce it here for those who have lost their copy and those who wish to read the rules before subscribing to the list.
*** IMPORTANT *** IMPORTANT *** IMPORTANT *** READ THESE RULES CAREFULLY! IF YOU VIOLATE THEM YOU *WILL* BE KICKED OFF WITHOUT CHANCE OF REINSTATEMENT. IGNORANCE OF THESE RULES IS NOT AN EXCUSE. *** IMPORTANT *** IMPORTANT *** IMPORTANT *** The following are general rules and information about lists served by this host: *** IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ AND SAVE *** You are responsible for reading this message before using the mailing list. If you do not, you may find yourself in trouble later, so do yourself a favor and look it over now. It is only through the volunteer efforts of the list managers and machine owner that the list can be provided to you. Please have the courtesy to read and understand this message. IMPORTANT: Please remember the address you subscribe under. It may be required to unsubscribe. NOTE: throughout this file the word '[listname]' is used to generically refer to the name of the list. Substitute the actual name of the list instead of [listname]. ===== 1) HOW TO ACCESS THE LIST To post messages to the list, send email to: [listname]@tcp.com Any other things, like subscribing, unsubscribing, changing your address, etc., send to: Majordomo@tcp.com Majordomo is a server which follows commands contained in the body of the message. Send the command "help" for full details. The command "unsubscribe [listname]" will unsubscribe you from [listname] and likewise the command "subscribe [listname]" will subscribe you to the list. However, this only works if the address you subscribed with is identical to the one you unsubscribe with. If your address has changed you will need to specify it in the unsubscribe command. Please send the "help" command for further information. Some lists also have digest versions. For the digest version, a collection of messages is sent out once per day (or sometimes more if there are a lot of postings). Majordomo handles this by having a seperate list called "[listname]-digest". Send the "lists" command to Majordomo to see which digests are available. If you need to contact the actual human in charge of the list, send to: [listname]-manager@tcp.com ===== 2) HOW TO ACCESS THE ARCHIVES The address to the ftp archives is: ftp.tcp.com in /pub/[listname] (206.40.34.130) This is also available via the Web (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.): http://ftp.tcp.com/pub/[listname] (Not all lists have archives. If this directory doesn't exist, then the list has no archives currently. Digest archives are filed under the non-digest name, (i.e. /pub/[listname] instead of /pub/[listname]-digest.)) If you don't know how to ftp, "finger ftp@ftp.tcp.com" to learn how. You must be directly connected to Internet to do this. (ftp is a way of transferring files from here to your account over the Internet.) If this command doesn't work, ask your local support staff how to access ftp. If you are not on the Internet, you can still reach the archives through an ftp by mail service. For information on this, send a mail message saying 'help' to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com. Note: The archives use the gzip compression program. This is not the same as pkzip. gzip programs and source code are in the /pub/misc directory. You can also retrieve uncompressed files directly through a special feature. Read /pub/README.conversion for details. ===== 3) HOW THE LIST WORKS The way mailing lists work is, you mail to the address listed above, and then the mailer here sends your message on to everyone on the list. It all happens automatically. Therefore, ONLY ONLY ONLY send mail you want to send to everyone on the list to that address. Also note that when you post, the list will send a copy back to you, as well as the rest of the list. This is a good way to make sure it got through. If you want to subscribe, unsubscribe, change address, or anything else similiar to this, use the address to Majordomo. Majordomo should be able to handle all requests automatically. Any requests sent to the list itself will be ignored. If you post about the list somewhere else or tell a friend about it, give the Majordomo address and subscription command ONLY. The reason for these two warnings is that very often subscribe and unsubscribe requests get mailed to the main list, and everyone gets annoyed that they are getting all these 'junk-mail' messages in the list. The general rule for mailing lists is to send these type of requests either to a 'request' address for manually maintained lists, or to a LISTSERV or Majordomo address in the case of automatic lists. Because the automatic Majordomo server can handle almost all transactions, please attempt to use it instead of mailing the list owner. If you need to contact the list owner, use the address [listname]-manager@tcp.com. The various lists are run by more than one person and it is possible that the person running a list last week is not the person running the list this week. ===== 4) WHAT IS AND IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO POST (The Basics) There are some other things you shouldn't post to this mailing list. In general, IF IT DOESN'T RELATE TO THE SUBJECT OF THE LIST, DON'T POST IT! ===== 5) SOME THINGS WHICH ARE DEFINITELY NOT APPROPRIATE (The Specifics) Don't post encoded graphics images or very long text files. If your message is longer than 1000 lines or 50k, don't post it. Many subscribers have accounts on multiuser systems and have limits on how big their mail file can be. Large files can cause lots of problems for these people. Instead, you can place large files on an ftp or web server and post a message to the list about how to get the file. Interested subscribers can then retrieve the file and those who can't handle large files will be spared having their accounts thrown into jeopardy. Don't post anything harrassing other members of the list. Harrassment is against our policy and is also ILLEGAL in many cases. Extreme profanity and sexually explicit text is also prohibited on the list. While the occasional naughty word is usually tolerated if used appropriately, wholesale abuse will not. Again, this is another area which is also ILLEGAL in many cases. Don't post chain letters! These will get you into a lot of trouble with your system administrator, and you will get a lot of hate-mail from the recipients as well. Chain letters prey on gullibility. There is no special luck or good fortune received by sending these. The only result will be a lot of people yelling at you. Don't post 'test' messages. If you think there is a problem, send mail to the Majordomo address and you'll get an automatic reply. If you don't get a reply, something is broken, and it's most likely at your end. Talk to whoever runs your mail system. If you post test messages, they might make it to the list, but not make it back to you, so you don't learn anything from it, but you do clutter up other people's mailboxes. Resist the urge to post anything which says 'please pass this on' unless it relates to the subject of the list. These include: The outdated/hoax story about Craig Shergold who is dying and wants to collect a record number of postcards/business cards/etc. The PBS chain petition, aka Save Sesame Street. The hoax story about a new FCC modem tax. Make Money Fast, Get Rich Quick, Dave Rhodes, and other illegal pyramid schemes. The "Good Times" or "Irina" hoax virus warnings. The "AIDS chain letter" research project. All of the above are hoaxes, illegal, or otherwise misguided. There are other things which fall into this category, so just because it isn't listed here doesn't mean it is OK to post. There are a lot of what are known as urban legends floating around out there. If it sounds even a little fishy, it is likely to be untrue. Don't embarass yourself by falling prey to one of these tall tales! Use your common sense and you will stay out of trouble here. If you are interested in urban legends, there is a newsgroup called alt.folklore.urban which you can read. And remember, anything not related to the list subject is forbidden anyways. This automatically rules out all of the above from our lists. ===== 6) WHAT HAPPENS IF I POST SOMETHING INAPPROPRIATE? Posting material which is obviously off the subject of the list will cause your immediate REMOVAL from the list and a note being sent to your postmaster and possibly to the administrative contact for your site. If it is not so obvious, or a minor flub, you'll probably get a gentle reminder of the rules. Your removal could be temporary or permanent depending on the circumstances. DON'T TAKE THIS WARNING LIGHTLY! Several people have lost their accounts and/or faced disciplinary action because of complaints sent to their site contacts. Several others have had been permanently removed from the mailing lists. Some have even lost their accounts because what they posted violated the policy of their network provider, company, or school. Remember, for obvious violations of these rules, you will be kicked off immediately and without chance of reinstatement. Be sure that anything and everything you post is within these rules. ===== 7) WHAT IF IT BOUNCES WHEN I POST? When you post to the list, you might get back some bounces. This usually does not mean your messaage didn't make it to the list. The bounces are probably coming from individual subscribers who are having mail problems. If you get a bounce, just ignore it. If after a day your posting still hasn't been mailed back to you from the list, send the list manager mail about it. ===== 8) WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I REPLY TO A MESSAGE? When you reply to a message sent to the list, most mailers will send your reply to the original sender ONLY. If you also want to send a reply to the list, you have to do things a bit differently. Some mailers allow you to reply in a special way so that it goes to the list and the original sender. In the 'Mail' program, using 'R' instead of 'r' to reply will do this. In the 'elm' program, you can use the 'g' command which stands for Group Reply. Another option is to mail the response back to the list address manually in the normal way you send mail. (Note that in some newer versions of 'Mail', the functions of the 'r' and 'R' commands are the reverse of the older versions described above.) In the case of digest versions, the reply will usually go to the whole list, with the possible exception of rule 9 below. ===== 9) WHAT'S THE 'CATCH-ERRORS' ADDRESS? Some mailers are really stupid and will send replies to the address catch-[listname]-errors. The catch-[listname]-errors address is an address designed for the collection of bounce messages. Anything sent here probably won't ever be seen at all. Misdirected messages sent to this address are usually discarded. Pay attention when replying that it is sent to the correct address. ===== 10) SOMEONE REPLIED TO JUST ME INSTEAD OF THE WHOLE LIST If you receive replies to your posting which are addressed personally to you, and not the list at large, it might be a good idea to repost excerpts or summaries of the replies, unless they are truly private responses. You might want to check with the sender to verify before reposting. ===== 11) WHAT ABOUT COPYRIGHT OF MY MESSAGES? Under the Berne Convention Treaty, you have a copyright on any messages you create. By posting a message to the mailing list, you are giving up your right to control distribution of that message. In other words, by posting to the list, you are allowing your article to be freely copied, archived, reprinted, etc. by anyone who receives it, regardless of whether the person received it directly from the list, or from someone else. In some cases, a person may be charged to read or receive your article with no further compensation to you. You retain other rights afforded to you by copyright law. You may not circumvent this policy by posting messages to the list which include a copyright notice which includes the phrase 'All rights reserved.' If you have a problem with this policy, you are free to not post to the list. Posters which continually violate this will be asked not to post, or be barred from posting at the list manager's discretion. ===== 12) THERE IS A SIMILIAR GROUP ON USENET, HOW ABOUT A GATEWAY? Gateways of lists at this location to or from similiar Usenet groups should not be done without specific permission of the list manager and list members. In the past, list members have traditionally been opposed to such gateways, since the "signal to noise ratio" on Usenet is generally much worse than on the mailing lists. Because the lists require registration, and have a manager and a specific policy, they are much less prone to abuse. ===== 13) WHAT HAPPENS IF MY MAIL SYSTEM GOES DOWN FOR A WHILE? Be warned that if mail to you starts bouncing, you will be removed from the list and placed on the "bounces" list. Mail is then sent nightly to the "bounces" list to notify those people in case mail starts working again in the future. The "bounces" list is pruned after a few weeks on the assumption that if something hasn't been fixed by then, it probably never will be. If you have been having mail problems, or haven't received messages from the list in a while, send a message to the Majordomo address to see if you are still on the list. If you don't hear back from it this means either your message didn't get here, or it bounced on the way back. Sending more messages to it, or messages to the list address won't help a bit. Talking to your system admin will help. Mail problems due to bounces or down systems can cause a large delay in mail processing, thus bounces are dealt with very agressively. Although some bounces are caused by temporary problems, the majority of them have been because of either permanent or chronic problems. If your mail fails frequently, you may have problems staying on the list. Please either talk to your system admin to get mail stabilized, or subscribe from a different location. ===== 14) WHY NOT JUST ASK THE LIST MANAGER? The purpose of the list is for discussion, so use it for what it was intended for. The list manager is most likely not the only one who can answer your question. The manager might even know a lot less than some of the other subscribers on the list. In some cases the list manager knows nothing at all about the subject. ===== 15) ABOUT POSTING 'SPOILERS' In the case of TV show discussion lists, if a post you are going to make reveals information that others don't know yet, make sure to do whatever possible to alert the reader that the article contains spoilers. If possible, wait until the episode has begun on the west coast before posting, but if you post before this, leave a warning at the top of the message and about 30 blank lines before the rest of the message. Many people don't like to find out about the show until they see it for themselves. ===== 16) WHAT OTHER LISTS ARE AVAILABLE HERE? Send the command "lists" to the Majordomo address and it will send you a current list. ===== 17) PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK! If you read this far you deserve a pat on the back. Keep reading, we're almost done. ===== 18) KIDS: GET YOUR PARENTS' PERMISSION! These lists are not moderated, and may from time to time contain postings which may contain adult language or discussions of an adult nature. If you are under eighteen years of age you must get parental permission before subscribing. ===== Thanks for reading this message! It would be a good idea to save this to a file or print it out, so that you can refer to it in the future.
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