OSL List Etiquette

 

You will find the following General Guidelines, List-Lingo, and Netiquette For Participating on Email Discussion Lists helpful as a new member of OnlineStudyList.com. This guide has been designed to help you give and receive value from the lists.

General guidelines for participaing in Email discussion lists are as follows:

 
  • Lurk and Learn before you post. Never post to a list until you've received plenty of posts to understand the community or are comfortable with the style of the list.
  • READ the Archives before posting, so that you know what has been covered already and what has not. This will also give you an overall feel for the list topics which make up this list.
  • READ the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for the list if there is one. This may save you looking like a newbie, and answer many of your questions which have already been asked before you.
  • Do Not Cross-Post. This means do not send your Email to more than (1) list at time. Do not CC or BCC any list.
  • Do Not send PRIVATE Emails through a public list. This is very immature behavior, and will not be tolerated. Reprimand via private Email only. Never reprimand in public, if at all possible.
  • Keep hate mail and issues with deep religious or political meaning off the lists. There is a proper place for everything, and the lists are not for these topics.
  • When posting, ADD VALUE or don't post.
  • Keep your post ON-TOPIC. Please do not forward Virus Hoaxes through the list. These are off topic. Do not post: "Me too", unless you add value with that post.
  • Respect other peoples opinions. They are right for each person, but may not be right for you. These are perspectives. Each person does have a right to their perspective. Honor that, but you don't have to agree with each other.
  • Spell and Grammar check your Email before posting. These are professional forums, and your Email is a representative of your intelligence and reputation.
  • Support up your statements. If you are going to make a statement that is on 'the edge', please back it up with facts that support your statement.
  • Be Courteous of your fellow list members. Not everyone has a clue all the time, about everything, so be gentle in your communications.
  • DO NOT SPAM the list with your advertising message. You will be banned from the list(s) soon.
  • As to Style, Keep your SIG lines 5/6 lines or less. Trim your Reply to a post. We don't need to read the entire thread, over and over again. Just quote what is relevant only. Trim the footer off your reply.
  • Being nice to the List Manager will go a long way with your request. SHOUTING will prioritize your request to the bottom.
  • Keep your posts in the POSITIVE No one wants to hear a negative attitude, but if you are going to have one, support it with facts.
  • Do not forward Copyrighted material or information you do not have permission to forward, through the list.
  • The lists are archived for life. Price discussions, among your competitors/peers, are usually not a good idea. Furthermore, do not post information that should be kept private, including your personal data, a subscriber's personal data, or any other confidential information.
  • Note: Do not say anything through a list you wouldn't mind being archived for life, because it will be.
  • Swearing is not really appropriate in a public forum. Please limit the use of vulgarity to make your point.
  • Give credit where credit is due. If you are quoting another persons work or website, make sure you give proper credit for the original author of the works you have quoted.
  • Do not turn your Email address into a vacation auto-responder. If you are going on vacation, REMOVE yourself from the list.
  • Think before posting. Once you click on SEND, there is no way to stop your Email from being distributed through the rest of the list.
  • Lastly, Do Not Send HTML Emails or enriched, stylized, enhanced text Emails through the list. Doing so will make your Emails look like garbage code to many of the list members who are using pine or other non-html compliant Email lists.
  • ASCII is the standard. Please, keep the lists to this standard. Do not send attachments to the lists unless the information has been requested in that format from list members.