[vdr] Mailing List Etiquette

[Clemens Kirchgatterer <clemens@1541.org>]

This is the (updated) 'official' vdr-mailing-list-etiquette-reminder. 
Please take this as a serious advise. The VDR mailinglist is
getting quite large and it shouldn't become a pain in the ass to follow.
Take the time to read it, especially if you are new to mailinglists in
general.


E-mail formatting
=================

Mailing list email should fit the following criteria:

DO
--
* Trim quoted material to the minimum needed to clarify what you're
  talking about.
* Add a blank line _before_ and _after_ each quote for better
  readability.
* Make sure you are attributing material to the correct person
  (i.e. make sure the "On 19/07/2002, Joe Bloggs said:" is correct)
* Write your responses _after_ the quoted text, not before. If your 
  mail client makes it difficult to do this, get a new one.
* Make sure lines are wrapped at maximum 76 characters (to fit an 80 
  character wide screen), even if the text had been quotet several
  times.
* Use ">" at start of line to mark quoted text.
* Set your mail client to "english headers" to avoid subjects like:
  "AW: Antwort: Re: AW: AW: AW: Re: Some Topic allready trunkated" 
  If you see one, don't just add another "Re:" but remove
  all "AW:" and other chained "Re:".
* Use a descriptive subject! A message titled "A small wish"
  doesn't tell what it is about. Better use something like
  "should do xyz" or "crashes when doing xyz".
* Always write one separate message per topic. some people (especially
  those who matter) might not read mixed-up and lengthy threads.
* Start a new thread when posting a new subject.
* Make emails as short as possible whilst keeping them comprehensible.

Don't
-----
* Don't post in either HTML-only or in Text and HTML. If your mail
  client doesn't support this, change it.
* Don't top post.
* Don't give a one line answer having quoted the whole post.
* Don't use a too long signature.
* Don't reply where you should have started a new thread.
* Don't break threads by sending a new mail, where you should have
  replied.
* Don't test post. Send your test posts to "echo@fu-berlin.de" or
  similar reply machines.
* Don't use lengthly disclaimers. If not possible, use a freemail
  account.
* Don't quote disclaimers and other footers.

General Etiquette
=================

This can really be summed up in one phrase - 'be polite'.  

Allways use your 'Real Name' when posting to mailinglists or newsgroups.

If you think something is off-topic, don't reply to the list although 
you may want to send a short and *polite* note to the person privately 
telling them which list would be more appropriate; don't just say - 
"that is OT here".

If someone flames or trolls the list, don't reply - it wastes everyones
bandwidth and time.

Don't reply to spam which gets through to the list - just ignore it when
it does.

Resources
=========

* The ultimate guide to most matters to do with email etiquette is
  RFC-2822 which can be found at: 

  ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2822.txt

* A german site set up by some usenet-people, who take it even more
  serious with netiquette.

  http://learn.to/quote