[cobalt-users] netiquette - please respect it

["H.P. Stroebel" <hpstr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

my _apologies_ to all from the list who respect this guidelines; i
considered it necessary, and if it has some positive effect, it would
help even them, as unneccesary postings take _our_ time to read, _our_
resources and resources of others.

(just a note : the topic not contained in this rfc -as it is from 1995-,
html postings, had to be eliminated from this list with some kind of
"brute force"...)

taken from RFC 1855, http://www.stanton.dtcc.edu/stanton/cs/rfc1855.html

3.0 One-to-Many Communication (Mailing Lists, NetNews)

3.1.1 General Guidelines for mailing lists and NetNews
Read both mailing lists and newsgroups for one to two months before you
post anything. This helps you to get an understanding of the culture of
the group.
(...)
Messages and articles should be brief and to the point. Don't wander
off-topic, don't ramble and don't send mail or post messages solely to
point out other people's errors in typing or spelling. These, more than
any other behavior, mark you as an immature beginner.

Subject lines should follow the conventions of the group.
(...)
If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you
summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just enough
text of the original to give a context. (...) Giving context helps
everyone. But do not include the entire original!
(...)
Be careful when you reply to messages or postings. Frequently replies
are sent back to the address which originated the post - which in many
cases is the address of a list or group! You may accidentally send a
personal response to a great many people, embarrassing all involved.
It's best to type in the address instead of relying on "reply."

Delivery receipts, non-delivery notices, and vacation programs are
neither totally standardized nor totally reliable across the range of
systems connected to Internet mail. They are invasive when sent to
mailing lists, and some people consider delivery receipts an invasion of
privacy. In short, do not use them.
(...)
If you should find yourself in a disagreement with one person, make your
responses to each other via mail rather than continue to send messages
to the list or the group. If you are debating a point on which the group
might have some interest, you may summarize for them later.

Don't get involved in flame wars. Neither post nor respond to incendiary
material.

Avoid sending messages or posting articles which are no more than
gratuitous replies to replies.

Be careful with monospacing fonts and diagrams. These will display
differently on different systems, and with different mailers on the same
system.

3.1.2 Mailing List Guidelines

(...)
In general it is always better to check local resources first before
(...)
Send subscribe and unsubscribe messages to the appropriate address.
Although some mailing list software is smart enough to catch these, not
all can ferret these out. It is your responsibility to learn how the
lists work, and to send the correct mail to the correct place. 
(...)
The auto-reply feature of many mailers is useful for in-house
communication, but quite annoying when sent to entire mailing lists.
Examine "Reply-To" addresses when replying to messages from lists. Most
auto-replys will go to all members of the list.
(...)
Don't send large files to mailing lists when Uniform Resource Locators
(URLs) or pointers to ftp-able versions will do. If you want to send it
as multiple files, be sure to follow the culture of the group. If you
don't know what that is, ask.
(...)
When sending a message to more than one mailing list, especially if the
lists are closely related, apologize for cross-posting.
If you ask a question, be sure to post a summary. When doing so, truly
summarize rather than send a cumulation of the messages you receive.
(...)
If you are caught in an argument, keep the discussion focused on issues
rather than the personalities involved.


-- 

H. P.  Ströbel

PGP Digital Fingerprint :
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Yes, I do. But not Yahoo.