Mailing List Etiquette

When posting to the VEGAN Mailing List, or any other mailing list, please try to follow a few simple guidelines:

  1. No flames please. A "flame" is a message that directs abusive, angry, or otherwise inflammatory language at another person or persons on the list. Because the VEGAN Mailing List is a safe haven for all vegans, the moderators will reject any posts that contain flames.
  2. Please use meaningful subject lines. People with time constraints often look to the subject line to determine which posts to read, and which to skip. Please try to help them by making the subject line of your post accurately reflect the content of your message.
  3. No attachments please. Remember that your message will be downloaded by many people, some of which will be using slow Internet connections. Please do not attach files to your messages. Messages with attachments will be rejected by the moderators.
  4. Please turn off HTML formatting in your e-mail client. Not all e-mail clients can display HTML properly, so we ask that you use plain text in your messages. Most e-mail programs allow you to specify "plain text" instead of "HTML" or "rich text". Look for the setting in your preferences section, and change it to "plain text" or "ASCII".
  5. Tips for replying to another person's post: If you are new to computers and the Internet, you may be interested in reading our E-mail Basics page. When replying, please trim the original message, rather than retaining the complete text of the original message. It is a good idea to delete all but those paragraphs or sentences that give the context for your reply. This reduces the download time for those who have slow Internet connections, and greatly improves the ease of reading your reply. When replying to several paragraphs, it is fine to intersperse your comments with the original paragraphs. Only reply if you have something meaningful to add to the discussion; simply replying with "I agree!", or "me too!" should be done by private e-mail.
  6. Please limit the length of your "sig". If you include a signature block, or a block of text that you append to every message, proper netiquette states that you should limit it to three lines, and you should separate it from the main body of your message with a line that contains only dashes.
  7. NO SHOUTING, please. Messages that are typed in all capital letters tend to give the impression that you are shouting. Unless this is really your intention, please avoid this practice.
  8. No foul language please. Because we have children on the list, foul language is unacceptable. Some parents use computer programs that scan messages for certain words. When one of these words is found, the program blocks all messages from the list. If you feel the need to use a word that might be objectionable to others, then just type something like "a**", to avoid excluding anyone.
  9. Copyrighted text Post copyrighted text only when you have permission from the author to do so. A few sentences may be quoted without the author's permission if credit is given to him or her.

    Return to the VML Posting Guidelines page


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