************************************************************************ * * * *****>-Posting Guidelines for CFS-20s-<***** * * * * Written & Maintained by Roger * * * * For The CFIDS/CFS/ME 20-Somethings Discussion Group (CFS-20s) * * http://www.angelfire.com/me4/cfs20s/ * * * * ---------------------------------------- * * * * HTML Version: * * http://www.angelfire.com/me4/cfs20s/guidelines/guidelines.html * * * * Text Version: * * http://www.angelfire.com/me4/cfs20s/plain/guidelines.txt * * * * ---------------------------------------- * * * * This FAQ may not be copied, distributed or altered without * * the express permission of its Author. * * Unless stated elsewhere all original material on this page is * * copyrighted to Roger (c)1997, 98, 99 - All Rights Reserved * * * ************************************************************************ The following Guidelines are just a few points we ask our members to take into account when posting to CFS-20s. Based on 'netiquette', common sense and our own experiences on CFS-20s, they are designed to make CFS-20s be as enjoyable an experience as possible for all of our members. Please note that unless specifically mentioned in the List Rules, the points raised here are *NOT* rules as such and *NO ONE* is going to be kicked off the list for not doing any of the following unless the situation becomes out of hand or they break the official List Rules. We also realize that many people on this list are new to computers and/or new to the Internet and how it works, which is one of the main reasons behind this web page. So if you are having any problems understanding, or achieving any of the following guidelines, then please get in touch with one of us and we will do our best to help. The CFS-20s List Owner and BOD Jocelyn 'ygg' - List Owner Michelle - BOD Member Penni - BOD Member <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> The Most Important Guideline!: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Should you ever need any help, advice or reassurance, for *ANY* reason, whether it be a technical matter, a personal matter or a problem that you need help with, then please don't be afraid to get in touch with one (or all) of us and we will be glad to help you out, any way we can. Don't *ever* think you'd be causing us problems by doing so, as helping you is what we are here for. Quoting and Trimming: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When replying to a post, your comments should go BELOW the text you are quoting, with a blank line between the two. Trim any extraneous text from the original message so that you only leave enough to keep your reply in context. Posting In HTML: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please *DO NOT* post in HTML. Text should be sent using 'plain text' *only*. For instruction on how to turn off HTML in your e-mail client, visit the following sites... http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/listowners/html-off.htm http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1236/nomime.html What Can and Can't be Discussed on CFS-20s: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As we are all adults on CFS-20s, so long as it doesn't break any of the List Rules, any topic, however sensitive, can be disused on CFS-20s. However when discussing things we do ask that everyone respects their fellow list members, no matter what their gender, colour, nationality, religion, sexuality, etc. may be. Remember CFS-20s has members from all over the world and it's our individual differences that make us stronger as a whole. For further explanation of this policy, see Appendix A. Strong Language: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bad language is to be expected from time to time, especially when venting about the problems caused by our disease. However, as there are some on the list who find this kind of language very offensive, we do ask that a little restraint is shown at times when this language isn't necessary. Jokes: ~~~~~~ When posting jokes, please use the Humour Topic (HUM: ) and remember that CFS-20s is an international list, so just because something isn't offensive to you, doesn't mean that it won't be offensive to someone else. Certain topics such as gender (*esp.* 'Blonde' jokes), race and religion are particularly sensitive areas. Also, remember that most jokes on the net, especially those from humour mailing lists, have already done the rounds *many* times before, even if they are new to you. Finally, use common sense, if the list has been busy, or if there have already been several recent humour posts, it may be better to wait a day or two, before posting your joke to the list, so that normal posts do not get 'drowned out' by humour posts. Personal e-mail: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When replying to a post, think whether it is better sent to the list as a whole or just to the person themselves. Sometimes some messages are better sent in private. Short Messages: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is no problem sending short messages to CFS-20s, especially as some people are too sick to type much. However, simple "Me too!" posts are sometimes better sent privately. Or, if several people have responded to your post and you want to thank them, it is far better to send one e-mail to the list thanking them all, than to send several individual "Thank you" messages to the list. Virus Warnings: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please *DO NOT* post *ANY* Virus Warnings to CFS-20s. False warnings can be just as damaging and distressing as real viruses, and can cause no end of unnecessary panic, so we'd rather no warnings were sent at all. If there are any new viruses doing the rounds, then the BOD, or one of our resident computer geeks will send a warning to the list. If you have received a warning that you think the List should know about, then send it to one of us first and we will verify it for you. Reliable Sources of Information on Virus Hoaxes... http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html http://www.datafellows.com/virus-info/hoax/ http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html http://kumite.com/myths/ Reliable Sources of Information on Real Computer Viruses... http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html http://www.datafellows.com/virus-info/ http://vil.mcafee.com/ http://stiller.com/common.htm Chain Letters & Hoax Messages: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please *DO NOT* send any Chain Letters or Hoax Messages to the list, for ANY reason, however well intentioned. If a chain letter contains an inspirational message, or joke you want to share, them trim off any references to the chain letter part, and any e-mail addresses, or left over quote tags ('>'), before sending it on to the List. If you are not sure whether something is a chain letter or a hoax, then send it to us instead of the list and we will find out whether it is genuine or not. Web pages that deal with chain messages, and list some of the more common ones out there: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACChainLetters.html http://www.urbanlegends.com/ http://www.snopes.com/ Web pages that give tips on spotting hoaxes, as well as mentioning some of the more frequent hoaxes. http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACChainLetters.html http://kumite.com/myths/ http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html http://www.icsa.net/services/consortia/anti-virus/alerthoax.shtml http://www.urbanlegends.com/ http://www.snopes.com/ Attachments: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please *DO NOT* post ANY attachments for ANY reason. If you want to send something as an attachment, put it up on the web, and just post the URL to the list. If you do not have web space, contact one of us and we should be able to help you out. Photos for the Photo Gallery and Sound files for the Voice Gallery should be sent directly to Nichole at nicholef@yahoo.com. Subject Headers: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please try and keep subject headers relevant. If a thread starts out talking about one topic but then diverts to a different one, make sure your subject header reflects this change - put something like: "New Topic (WAS: Original Topic)". There are five Topic Prefixes that you may see used on the list (don't forget to include a space after the colon), and they are: SOC: For social posts not related to CFS/CFIDS/FM. HUM: For humorous posts/jokes. VENT: For when someone is upset and/or letting off steam. ALL: *ONLY* to be used by the List Owner, or Directors, and & *EVERYONE* must read these posts. "ALL: " is used for ADMIN: announcements relating to the list and its members. "ADMIN: " is used for announcements relating to the technical side of running the list. If you reply to ALL: or ADMIN: posts, you must remove the prefix from your subject header. For information on these topic prefixes and how to set up your subscription so that you only receive (or exclude) HUM: and/or SOC: Posts, see the CFS-20s Welcome Message. Cross Posting: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although we do not ban people from Cross Posting, due to privacy and other problems that can occur due to cross posting messages, we do ask that you keep it to a bare minimum and only do so when absolutely necessary. Please remember it is against List Rules to forward private posts from CFS-20s, to any other person/source not subscribed to CFS-20s, without the express permission of the author(s) involved. Non-English Languages: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although CFS-20s is an International Mailing List, we unfortunately do not have the resources to be a multi-lingual list. However, if English is not your first Language, and you have difficulty expressing a certain question or comment in English, it is ok to use your native language for that part of your message and hopefully someone will be able to translate for you. Or, if upon joining the list you wish to add a sentence or two in your native language to find out if there is anyone else on the list from your country, that is fine too. Writing Style: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For most of our members, reading long pieces of unbroken text can be at best, very tiring, or at worst, impossible. So to make sure the maximum number of people are reading your posts, try to break your posts up into short paragraphs, separated by a blank line. Also when replying to a post, leave a blank line between the text you are quoting and your own comments. Pacing Yourself: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please be careful and pace yourself. If you are not well enough to respond to a post, then DON'T. No one will quibble if you reply days, weeks or even months later. If you miss a thread that you particularly wanted to reply to you can always bring it up at a later date. Also the members on the list are constantly changing so before long the topic is either liable to come up again or there will be some new people on the list grateful for you restarting the topic. Ascii Art: ~~~~~~~~~~ To post and/or read messages that contain ASCII art, you need to use a 'non-proportional' or 'mono-spaced' font, as these display the same number of characters per inch, no matter what the actual width of the characters. e.g. Courier, Courier New, FixedSys, Line Printer, Monaco, Screen, System, Terminal, TTY, Video Terminal, or VT100. Proportional fonts will distort the picture and make it look like a complete mess. "I know I probably shouldn't post this, but...": ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Then DON'T post it!!! If you are not sure whether something you want to post, or forward to the list, should be sent or not, then it is far better to send to one of us first, and let us decide, than run the risk of causing possible offence or problems on the list. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Appendix A: What Can and Can't be Discussed on CFS-20s? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As far as the List Owner and Directors are concerned no topic is too sensitive to be brought up on CFS-20s, so long as everyone respects each other's points of view and follows the rules laid down in the welcome letter that you would have received upon joining the list (which can also be found HERE or obtained by sending an e-mail requesting a copy of the rules to: cfs-20s-request@maelstrom.stjohns.edu). In the rules we state... "CFS-20s is an e-mailing list for 20-somethings with CFIDS/CFS/ME, their spouses or significant others, and those with CFS/CFIDS/ME related conditions." "20-somethings begin to encounter a whole new range of CFIDS-related problems. These include (but are not limited to) marriage, engagement, dating (or not being able to date due to health), financial, schooling, and career problems. This will be the place to provide support and discuss hopes and fears relating to career options, schooling choices, personal relationships, sexual issues, financial woes, dependence on parents at a time one longs to be independent, etc. This will also be the place for the significant others of CFIDS patients to receive support, encouragement, and "coping" tips. It is a place for all involved to discuss experiences, frustrations, and fears, in addition to providing an environment to vent, ask questions, and receive help." We do not wish to start telling people what they can and can not discuss on this list. We realize that some topics may be offensive to some people, but how can we possibly tell what will and will not be offensive to any one of our members. Also if someone feels that they are needing to vent about something, is it right for us to stop them because what they say may offend somebody else on the list? We believe that a lot can be gained by healthy discussion and the sharing of opinions. Not only can people learn from each other and hopefully grow from the experience but many of us here who have been out of society for a long time, no longer have the opportunity to discuss ideas with other people, so maybe CFS-20s is a place to have that chance. All we ask is that you take the following into consideration.... - Please be respectful of your fellow list members. - Please realize that this list is available anywhere in the world and that its members will come from different cultures, backgrounds, educational levels, religious beliefs, etc. so will therefore have many varied views. - People may have different ways of saying and expressing themselves to what you may have, so something which you have taken to be insulting may not have been meant that way. - If you disagree with something that has been said, by all means say so. But please be respectful in your reply and explain why you disagree. - If you want to enter into a more specific discussion with an individual, rather than discussing something which may be interesting to the list as a whole, then please do it via private e-mail. - Nobody has the right to enforce their views or beliefs on anybody else. - If something upsets you and you feel like you have to reply straight away...*DON'T*...take a time out...sit on your hands, go to the bathroom, eat some chocolate, whatever. It is better to reply with a cool head than with an angry one. - If a topic or individual really upsets you, or if you think somebody has broken one of the list rules, then please get in touch with either the List Owner or one of the Directors straight away. - If you are worried that something you wish to post to CFS-20s may be too sensitive an issue to bring up please send your message to the List Owner or one of the Directors for approval. - Please remember that e-mail is a pretty emotionless medium. Something you may write in jest may be read by others as an insult. This is why the culture of using smilies and abbreviations such as IMHO (In my humble opinion), j/k (just kidding), etc. has sprung up on the net. For example: If I was to say "You should try this tablet", it sounds like I am telling you that you *should* be taking it and this may be insulting to some people. However, if I say "In my humble opinion it might be worth you trying this tablet", then although it is essentially saying the same thing, it is far more friendly and less hostile to the person reading it. We do not want to have to act as censors to this list if we can help it. We do not feel that we have the right to, nor in all honesty do we have the strength and energy needed to decide which topics can and can not be discussed. We are all adults here and we hope that we can discuss things in an adult way, without the need for intervention. However should anyone break any of the rules as laid out in the List Rules, Commands, and Welcome Letter we will not hesitate in taking the appropriate action. Obviously we welcome any of your comments on this topic as this is your list also. So if you have any views on this issue please get in touch with us.