How to conduct yourself –

Use common sense when posting. Be aware that you always have two options: responding through the list or to a member personally. The content of your message should determine which of these you choose.

* Follow the list rules at all times. If you’re not sure whether your post will violate the rules, ask the moderator before you send it.

* Lurk and learn what’s acceptable before posting to the list.

* Don’t over-quote. Include only the specific information you’re responding to, and chop out the rest.

* Keep posts to the list brief. If you’re post doesn’t add value, don’t send it. (Example: Don’t send a “thanks” message through the list. Send something like that directly to the person you’re thanking.)

* Be courteous to other list members. If you disagree with them, fine, just don’t resort to personal insults. * Consult the list archives before posting a question. This is also a good way to become familiar with a list’s acceptable topics, etc.

* Do not cross-post (send the same message to more than one list).

* Do not flame, send hate mail, or anything similar.

* Do not forward virus warnings.

* It is a courtesy to others and good practice NOT to quote an Email address in full (it might be crawled by a virus on someones hard drive). Try replacing the “@” with [AT], people will still be able to understand the contact in this way.

* Do not subscribe to lists with an email address with an autoresponder function. This includes “Out of Office Autoreply” and other features. Doing this creates a large amount of wasted email, which can be a significant burden on a publisher with a large email list.

* Respect other people’s opinions. If you disagree, do it politely.

* Spell check and reread your messages before posting.

* Do not blatantly promote yourself or otherwise spam the list. Self-promotion should be kept to a brief signature file at the end of your posts. Sig files shouldn’t exceed 4-5 lines.

* Do not forward copyrighted material to the list unless you have permission to do so.

* If you do use information not your own, give proper credit.

* Do not send HTML, rich text, or stylized email, or messages in “quoted-printable” format. Not all email programs of list members will recognise such formats. Send messages in ASCII.

More reading – the “Netiquette Home Page”