List Posting Guidelines
It is always good to bear in mind that posting messages to our lists (or anywhere else for that matter) costs somebody something, somewhere. Some people must pay for the time that they are connected to their e-mail server. Others must pay for all data they receive by the byte.
So, some simple posting guidelines are:
- Post messages of general interest to the list; that's what it's for, after all! Discussion is the name of the game.
- Send messages of personal/private interest directly to the person(s) to whom you're talking. For example, messages like, "You live in Timbuktu? Me too! Let's get together..." are best sent directly to your neighbor and not to the whole list.
- Try not to quote too much of someone else's message(s) inside your message. Just use what's relevant. If it's all relevant - use it all; if not, chop it out!
If you are an AOL, Hotmail/MSN, or Yahoo subscriber, after you read the
guidelines below, please click here
for some configuration hints. You may not get all of your messages
unless you add tchin.org email addresses to your address book.
Unacceptable Use
Messages of the following nature are NOT PERMITTED on C.H.I.N. lists:
- Bulk or mass e-mail
- Commercial e-mail and advertisements
- Surveys or solicitations for participation
- Financial solicitations
- Chain letters (including virus alerts)
- Profane or abusive e-mail
- Private e-mail (without prior consent)
- "Flames" (can include personal attacks and heated arguments)
- Non-plain-text messages (e.g. HTML, pictures, etc.). Our
software will automatically remove any attachments.
If you have something to post that you feel is appropriate but may conflict with the above, please contact the
listmaster at <listmaster@tchin.org> in advance of posting your message! Please do not re-post, re-distribute, or forward any list message anywhere outside of the list without prior consent of the message's author and C.H.I.N.
Please be aware that, for the protection of our subscribers, all list
messages are copyrighted by C.H.I.N., along with the author of each message. In an effort to keep our online support groups safe
and secure, C.H.I.N. reserves the right to cancel list subscriptions or deny access to our online support groups when necessary.
Non-delivery of List Messages
Occasionally, message delivery to an individual list member fails, for one reason or another. Regardless of the reason, non-delivery of list messages to any member is a real list management problem that must be resolved immediately. Here are some of the more common causes of e-mail delivery failure:
- The subscriber's Internet Service Provider (ISP) has not paid its
Internet domain name registration fee.
- The subscriber's ISP has accidentally misconfigured its e-mail server
or the server has failed.
- A network outage has occurred (for example, a routing error).
- The subscriber has changed user IDs or e-mail addresses.
- The subscriber mailbox is full.
Obviously, most of these situations are beyond the control of the average list member. The last item, however, is the most frequent cause of bounced list messages and can be prevented. Please take care to avoid this type of problem.
List "Warning" Messages
Our list management software automatically handles many situations where
email cannot be delivered. We realize that even the best ISP will occasionally have
problems, and full mailboxes do occur.
If a message is returned to us as being undeliverable for any reason,
we must temporarily suspend your subscription. At that point, we will begin to send
WARNING messages (initially at one-hour intervals) to test your mailbox.
If your mailbox accepts a WARNING message for delivery, your subscription
resumes. If no messages are accepted for delivery, after about five
days you will automatically be unsubscribed. You are, of course, free
to resubscribe yourself at any time.
The time your account is suspended is cumulative. If your account
is suspended for four days, and then begins accepting mail again, the next
time your account rejects mail, you will be unsubscribed after only one more
day. To reset your account, simply hit REPLY when you receive a
warning message. This stops the server from sending these messages and
also tells our server that you are still interested
in receiving list mail, and grants you another five days of downtime.
(The above is a simplified explanation, but reasonably accurate -- there
are some failures, like notification that an account is closed, that will
cause you to be immediately unsubscribed without the warnings. And
some ISPs, notably AOL and MSN, occasinally send these out even when the
account is fine).
Note that if you see a WARNING message in your mailbox, you will have
missed one or more list messages. If you frequently get WARNING
messages, it might be an indication that you should seek out a more reliable
Internet Service Provider.
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