2.2 Hints on joining Lost Chords
Once again, send all messages to the Lost Chords list itself to: lost-chords@mailman.connactivity.com
Do not, however, send subscribe or unsubscribe messages this address. This address is only for posting to the newsgroup and not for requesting to be added or deleted from the list. Subscribing or un-subscribing can only be accomplished in the manner described in Section 2.1.
Lost Chords is a mailing list
for discussion about the Moody Blues and not a general discussion list for
people who happen to like the Moody Blues.
When posting something to Lost Chords, one should have the following internal
discussion before hitting the "Send" key:
(1) Is what I am about to post about the Moody Blues?
(2) If not, can I honestly say that it will be of broad interest to the
600-700 subscribers, or is it something of interest only to me and a few of
my friends.
If the answers to both of those questions are "No", then you should be
sending whatever it is in private email to the people who are interested,
not to the list at large.
Though the list is un-moderated, there are currently five rules that can result in deletion from the list if violated (though at least one warning will be given):
(1) Posting private e-mail to the list without permission of the sender;
(2) Posting binaries (encoded or not) to the list;
(3) Posting negative material about identifiable people/groups, organizations based on unnamed sources. For example, it would be a violation to say: "a friend told me that John Doe is ripping people off." It would not be a violation to say: "Jane Roe, whom you can contact at XXX, told me that John Doe is ripping people off." And it DEFINITELY is NOT a violation to say something like "I/a friend/my dog/etc. think that (album name) sucks." The basic idea is that if you are going to accuse someone of doing something wrong, it had better be a first-hand experience or the source of the information should be named and identified so that someone could verify your claim if they so desire.
(4) Politically-oriented messages are very strongly discouraged. If the Moodies happen to take a political stand on something, that's fair game (to a point). But discussions of political issues of the day are not on-topic for this list, and saying 'well, the Moodies would never approve of XXXX' or the like doesn't magically make them on-topic.
(5) If, after someone unambiguously tells you to stop sending them private e-mail (i.e. along the lines of, "Please cease from sending me any and all e-mail"), and you do not, and they complain to the list administrator, there will be an extremely high likelihood of you being unsubbed. For the person receiving the unwanted mail -- you need to tell the sender explicitly that you don't want to hear from them. For the person sending the unwanted mail -- once you get that notice, if you send anything, no matter how innocuous, to that person, and the person complains to the list administrator, you will almost definitely be unsubscribed. Conversely, you won't be unsubscribed unless you were notified to completely cease from sending someone mail. This prohibition against sending unwanted e-mails includes any automatic e-mails which are sent to people you have blocked with your e-mail program IF they get the automatic message even when posting to Lost Chords, and not e-mailing you directly.
Further,
(1) Ads are not allowed, with two small exceptions, and then no more often than once a month:
(a) You can make one post saying that you have stuff for sale (with a brief description - like "I've got some solo albums" or "I've got some old concert programs" - no listings of what's on the block) and asking interested parties to contact you. Make clear that replies should NOT go to the list;
(b) If people have gone "bin-diving," they can list the stuff if it's short (say 5 items), else they should follow (a).
(2) Advertising tickets that were purchased to be resold is not allowed. In other words, ticket brokers flogging their wares are persona non grata. The same is true for plain old individuals who are trying to sell tickets they bought for the purposes of reselling them. It's still OK for people who are honestly stuck with extra tickets to advertise them. However, such posts should make it clear that all replies should go to the individual, not to the list.
(3) Sending chain mail to the list, no matter how good a cause you think it is, is strictly prohibited. This includes warnings about computer viruses. Before you pass on a virus warning, check HoaxBusters.ciac.org/ to see if the virus is real or a hoax;
(4) ASCII art, except as part of a small signature (i.e. less than 10 lines and preferably less than 5) is strictly prohibited;
Other suggestions are:
Never post anything that you wouldn't want repeated;
Never post anything that you wouldn't want anyone to see, including friends, coworkers, bosses, potential bosses (!), significant others (SOs), potential SOs, parents, etc.;
And always assume that others are going to misinterpret your words, so explain yourself clearly the first time out.
If you're new to the Net, we recommend that you read the articles on Netiquette. It's mentioned that such things as messages sent in all capital letters are considered "shouting" on the Net. These are located on Usenet in: news.announce.newusers. They're also available by FTP from: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.announce.newusers/
We suggest that you follow the discussion for a while before posting a message. Before posting your first message, please post a brief introductory message to the list so we know who you are. If your e-mail address is a nickname or "handle," please sign your name to your posts, at first, until the group has had a chance to know you by both your real name and nickname.
Also, please try to stay focused on the Moody Blues as much as possible. Even though it is a private list, everything posted to Lost Chords is archived and eventually made public. People should use the same precautions they would when broadcasting anything to the world. For example, you should not include your home address or phone number in your post to the list (including in your signature file). If you need to relay this information to someone, it should be done by private e-mail
When you are replying to a message that you have received from the Lost Chords mailing list, it is very important that you double-check what your e-mail program has selected to put in the "To:" field before sending your reply out. If you wish to reply only to the sender, make sure that the Lost Chords address doesn't appear in the "To:" field.
Please use personal e-mail if what you're saying is directed to only one person or want to say something more private, instead of broadcasting it to the rest of the group. If you're having trouble contacting someone by private e-mail (and you've tried more than once), you might post a note to Lost Chords just asking that person to contact you (no need to include details of your private conversation). Otherwise, you might embarrass someone (perhaps yourself) with private e-mail showing up on the list.
Also, when posting to Lost Chords, it is suggested that you turn off your "return receipt requested" function of your mailer program, if you have one. Otherwise, your mailbox will be filled with literally hundreds of receipts each time you post. Similarly, out of courtesy to those posting to Lost Chords, it would be appreciated if you would turn off any function of your mail program that automatically sends out receipts when you read your e-mail or are out of the office.
Please help us keep the traffic down by cutting quoted messages so that only the relevant and necessary parts are re-sent to the list. Some mail programs automatically include the whole text of the message you're replying to at the bottom of your message -- if yours does this, please manually delete all but the relevant portions of the message you are replying to and do not re-send the entire message. Also, please be careful when you are quoting someone else's message that you attribute the quote to the correct person.
Also, where possible, please try to combine your comments regarding several different posts from different people into one "anthology" message. In other words, if there are five different posts to which you wish to make brief comments about, it would be preferable if you could combine them into one post, indicating the relevant comment of the posts to which you are responding, followed by your own comments to each. Rather than having five separate messages, which must be sent to all real time subscribers, there will only be one message, containing all of your comments to the respective posts.
The membership of Lost Chords is comprised of a wide range of ages, experiences and musical tastes, with the Moody Blues being the common glue. While differing viewpoints and healthy discussions are encouraged, respect and responsibility should also be a part of the posting process. Often a message can be perceived in more than one way, so try to say it in the nicest way possible (Say It With Love). If you feel someone's posting is inflammatory, stupid or cruel, and you truly must reply to it, please do so privately (don't post it to everyone in Lost Chords). And if you are in the wrong, please admit it. Thanks.