Policies / Etiquette
Rules for Participating
- Participation in UUA.ORG's lists is a privilege and not a right. The UUA reserves the right to suspend participants from lists who violate standards and rules put forward by the UUA Board. Procedures for due process in conflict mediation and suspension have been established by the Office of Electronic Communications. Decisions on suspension are delegated to the OEC and are appealed to the UUA Executive Vice-President.
- UUA mailing lists may not be used for commercial announcements unless directly related to the topic of the list. The List Managers may use their discretion regarding which posts are appropriate.
- List attachments are strongly discouraged.
- UUA mailing lists may not be used for creating offensive or disruptive messages, including those containing sexual implications, racial slurs, or any comment that offensively addresses someone's age, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, national origin, or disability.
- List subscribers participate in UUA.ORG lists at their own risk.
- In the interest of encouraging broad list participation, List Managers may set limits on the number of posts per day from a single individual.
- List Managers and Moderators are to be treated with respect as they carry out their work. Inappropriate language directed at List Managers, or engaging in protracted arguments about a decision, may result in a subscriber being blocked from participation on a given list or all UUA-run lists.
List Etiquette
Each email list has its own rules of list etiquette, as determined by the list's managers and subscribers. Following are some additional etiquette guidelines:
- Don't "flame:" "Flaming" means sending messages that are
far more belligerent, sarcastic, accusatory, or just plain mean
than you would be in person. Something about email communication can prompt otherwise
polite, kind people into acting like TOTAL JERKS on mailing
lists (see—that was a flame right there!). If you are tempted
to send an angry message, take a break first, then reconsider your message. Remember that a lot of tone and expression are lost in communications that aren't face-to-face.
- Don't talk if you don't have anything to say: Put that
way, this rule seems pretty obvious. But lots of people post
messages that simply say "Me too!" or "I agree!" This can add signifcantly to the number of messages each subscriber receives, without necessarily adding meaning.
- Don't be fancy: Send messages in plain text, without HTML formatting.
- Use descriptive subject lines: When writing a new message
or replying to a message, make sure that the subject line describes
your message as specifically as possible. Never send a message
with the subject "Help!" when it could say "Need 4th grade curriculum
about Islam."
- Identify yourself: Most email programs let you define
a signature which appears at the end of each message you send.
Your signature should be no more than four lines long and should include
your name and email address; you might also include your website (if any),
and a pithy quote or tag line. Don't include your mailing address, phone number, or "ASCII art" (pictures
made out of punctuation).
- When replying, include only the relevant part of the original
message: Most email programs provide a way to "quote" the
text of the message you are replying to. When people read your
reply, they may not remember exactly which message you are replying
to, so including the quote puts your message in context. On the
other hand, delete the parts of the quote that aren't relevant,
so each reader doesn't have to wade through headers, signatures,
and other stuff that doesn't pertain to your message.
- Reply privately when your message isn't of interest to
the group: When you reply to a message, consider whether
to send your reply to the mailing list or to the person who
wrote the message. If you want to make a
point that contributes to the group discussion, post your reply
to the mailing list. If you want to criticize, ask a personal
question, or ask something off the topic of the list, send your
reply directly to the person who wrote the message.
- Don't post chain letters and virus messages: It doesn't matter how worthy the chain letter sounds! Don't post messages to a list unless you personally know the information in it to be true (known Internet scams are listed at Symantec's Threat Explorer). Most messages about computer viruses have proven to be bogus, so don't waste everyone's time with them. Ditto for sending postcards to dying children or news flashes about proposed modem taxes. And messages that purport to help you "make money fast" are, like all pyramid schemes, illegal. Just say no—delete chain letters and don't pass them along.
Last updated on Monday, October 23, 2006.
