Etiquette
for PHYS-L and Similar Electronic Mailing List Postings (largely
paraphrased by Dan MacIsaac from Mailing List Manners 101 & 102 by Adam C.
Engst at
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1141>
; used with permission) These
are guideline and considerations, not hard and fast rules. When in doubt, ask
the moderator or list owner. Write
Carefully: - lurk
on any new list, reading typical postings for style and content for a few days
before plunging in with your first posting
- check
your spelling, grammar, punctuation and composition as best possible; while you
are not publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, the message is going to 650-odd
professionals, not a close friend. If appropriate, ask someone to proofread your
post before sending it. English is not the native language for many subscribers
(PHYS-L has subscribers from 30+ countries). We encourage subscribers to post
if they have any reasonable facility with written English.
- don’t
use all capital letters, and insert a blank line between paragraphs
- surround
URLs (web addresses) with angle brackets or set them apart from regular text
Quote
Sparingly: - avoid
excessively large replies created by quoting complete original messages (a real
problem for DIGEST-mode readers). Instead, select and keep only appropriate quoted
text, indicating what is quoted and what is not from the original message (many
email programs will do this automatically) and manually pruning out irrelevant
sections. Indicate deletions. Leave enough original material so you are not enigmatic.
- prune
your email signature to two lines or less
Avoid
Junk Postings: - don’t
post listserv commands to the list (SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE requests etc); they
are sent to the program controlling the list, not the list itself. See the sidebar
to this article or the list web page <http://purcell.phy.nau.edu/phys-l/>
for controlling your list subscription. When you join a list, keep a copy of the
introductory note mailed to you with this information.
- ensure
sure you verify the address line when you try to reply to a single person and
not the entire list (this sometimes embarrasses job seekers)
- don’t
respond to calls for survey information via the list, instead return private email
to the survey poster who should summarize replies and post a summary back to the
list
- don’t
post welcome or congratulations messages after an initial on-list general announcement
(these are more meaningful when privately sent)
- if
you are seeking factual information, check list archives and FAQs before posting
your query. Explore and learn to use any list archives. Don’t automatically
believe anything you read on the web or on any list.
- avoid
file attachments. Don’t post binary files to PHYS-L; they are inappropriately
long and burdensome to readers and are a prime vector for computer viruses. PHYS-L
has no current acceptable format for posting pictures and images. The preferred
solution is to create an appropriate web page somewhere, then post its URL on
PHYS-L for web viewing and list comment.
- when
posting turn off features like v-cards and HTML-mail (the default format in Netscape
and Internet Explorer browser-email) that automatically create attachments
- chain
mail is inappropriate, as is commercial solicitation
Write
Descriptive Subject Lines: - use
descriptive phrases, questions, specific topics or collections of keywords as
your posting subject line. If replying to a thread identify the thread you are
discussing in the subject line. Many list readers DELETE unrecognizable subject
lines from lists unread in their incoming mail. Subject lines should aid the retrieval
of appropriate information for months or years in the future. For instance, instead
of
Midterm Question use
Harmonic vs. Anharmonic driving forces
in musical instruments
Topic,
Tone, and Viruses: - all
postings should follow the list topic and intent. PHYS-L postings should all have
purposes specific to the list (in this case teaching and learning physics, and
not jokes about accountants). This is particularly problematic with the more specialized
physics education lists such as PhysLrnR and
TAP-L, which are deliberately
not general lists like PHYS-L. - an
appropriate tone for posting is conversational, not formal but respectful of others.
When emailing, try to speak as if you were in front of another person. It is inappropriate
to use inflammatory language or personal attacks in list postings. This IS monitored
on PHYS-L and all of the above physics lists. Moderators and list owners work
hard at keeping tone appropriately professional, welcoming and supportive for
all list members.
- respond
first to what the poster has said before developing your own views and opinions
(old business first). Try not to fall into parallel communication (taking turns
to speak but not carefully reading and attempting to understand replies) in online
exchanges. This usually means you should delay your responses and reflect on what
to say rather than firing off "knee-jerk" instant replies. Fine conversation
has give and take. Avoid e-rage; don’t say things in email you would not
say standing before someone else — you are NOT talking aloud to yourself
in private.
- The
moderate use of emoticons or smileys :^) can be helpful when conveying attitude,
humor or sarcasm. Readers cannot hear the tone of your voice when you write, making
it especially dangerous to convey sarcasm.
- if
you do receive an attachment document or executable file from any list, quarantine
this file in a download folder and run a virus detector over it before executing
or opening. Viruses have been spread through the physics lists, although this
is uncommon and the event is quickly caught and announced AFTER the fact. If a
computer is connected to the Internet, it REQUIRES anti-virus software.
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