List Rules

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Faithful N&W/VGN Fans and Listers:

The Board of the N&W Historical Society met this past weekend and among other things reviewed the "rules" regarding our lists. It asked that I refresh our common understanding of what is acceptable on our lists and what is not.

To be honest, we don't have a set of "rules" that we could publish, prefering instead to have individuals use good judgment and good taste. There is a certain level of etiquette that applies to most responsible e-mail lists, some of the points being: edit responses, don't simply repeat long strings of e-mails; be sure your full name appears somewhere; don't conduct personal disputes; treat listers with courtesy whether or not deserved; do not use profanity or other objectionable language (we all know it when we see it); and do not use the lists to conduct commercial business.

By far, the lists are free of objectionable behavior. This last point regarding commercial business is perhaps the most difficult to articulate and police. The intention is that the lists be available to inform us of new products (once), but they should not be used, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, to advertise or to sell. Is conducting market research on our lists a "commercial" use? Is using a commercial web site address "commercial"? Who knows. But since those things put our Moderator in the position of having to explain to one firm why it was OK for another firm to do something, we simply prefer that they and similar activities not be done. There are many other ways for commercial firms to conduct market research, announce product availability, market their wares, etc.

We do have one absolute: our Moderator is Czar! For the benefit of all, his decisions are final; beyond appeal.

Best wishes,
Bill McClure
President, N&WHS