Rules for the Linux on PowerPC™ Mail Lists
The following rules are intended to help make the LinuxPPC mail lists more useful and enjoyable for all, not to mention minimizing my workload administering the lists and archives. They are my specifics of the general "Netiquette" rules, also known as RFC 1855 and available throughout the Net. Please read and abide by the following rules before posting to the lists. Thank you for your cooperation.
- Edit quoted messages. Everyone's already seen the message you're replying to and no one wants to have to pay to see the entire thing all over again just because you're too lazy to edit it down to the specific parts you're replying to. Since you're quoting to establish context, intersperse your reply with the quoted material to make it easier to follow. We all pay for every byte moved on the Net one way or another, but some folks have to pay in real currency for every byte they receive so don't waste everyone's time and money quoting signatures and parts of the message that don't contribute to the context of your response. Let's also mention hitting enter when your original lines get to 65 or 70 characters. Some mailers don't really insert newlines when they wrap long lines, which really screws up quoting on other mailers.
- Use a descriptive subject. The list discussions are archived as a knowledge base and it makes them difficult to browse when your message doesn't provide a descriptive subject header or the subject is "Help!", "Linux question", "Re: Linux PPC User Digest V1 #1", and the like. Also, don't reply to a message when you're really composing a new message. Even if you change the subject header, there are other headers that link threads between replies. If those reference headers are bogus, it makes threaded indexes worthless. Similarly, when you contribute to a discussion thread, use your mailer's reply feature so that it will include the reference headers to thread your message to the discussion.
- Don't include or attach large files. These lists aren't the place to distribute extensive patches or source, although small patches and source segments are encouraged. Please put files that are more than a few kilobytes on an FTP or web site and post the URL. Again, some folks have to pay real money whether they want your attachment or not.
- Limit your signature to no more than 4 lines. I really don't want to have to enforce a limit, but ASCII art is definitely out. Most of the useful stuff in signatures is already in the message headers anyway and cutesy quotes just waste space in the archives.
- No HTML and especially no mixed/alternative MIME messages that include more than one copy of your message in different formats. For that matter, avoid MIME altogether since the digests don't work with MIME at present and it doesn't always work for the on-line archives either. HTML will delay your message and probably get it bounced as unsuitable for posting.
- Avoid cross-posting. Each list has a different charter. It's hard to imagine how one message could apply to more than one, so target your message and post only to the appropriate list. Also note that posting to the digest lists is the same as posting to the regular list, so don't post to both.
- Don't post your message more than once. If it doesn't show up on the list in a few minutes, be patient. E-mail is not and interactive medium, contrary to what some people apparently think. Your message may have gotten caught in a spam trap or maybe your mail system is congested and simply hasn't delivered it yet. If it doesn't show up within 14 hours, check the archive to see if it's there before you repost it.
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Check the archive, FAQ, and other resources before you ask a question.
More often than not, the answer is out there. Don't be lazy. Do some
research first before you ask people to spend their time helping
you. We like to help, but not if you could've easily found the
answer on your own. Links to many useful resources are available on
www.linuxppc.org and
www.linuxppc.com.
When you find an answer, post a summary for others, especially if you
found the answer by some means other than responses posted to the list.
Be sure to insert the tag [SUMMARY] in your original subject
and thread your summary to your original question with appropriate
References:and/orIn-Reply-To:headers. - Don't spam the lists, post off-topic messages, or use an auto-responder (vacation program) that replies to list mail. If spam, administrative requests, or off-topic discussions leak through onto the list, don't respond on the list. Also avoid "Me too!" replies that don't add anything relevant to the thread you're responding to. News, product/release announcements, and press releases are accepted on the linuxppc-announce list, but please don't try to use it as advertising space. Keep your announcement simple and refer interested parties to your web page. I will reject or edit (and you don't want that) overly commercial announcements.
- Never mail administrative questions, complaints, or list manager commands to the list. Commands to subscribe or unsubscribe go to the mail list manager, but be sure you've read the info for the respective list for instructions first. If you have trouble unsubscribing, receive notices that mail isn't getting to you or that you've been unsubscribed, or have other questions or comments about the list or archive administration, mail them to me, not to the list.
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Check the address when you reply.
Many mailers out there these days use the wrong headers for reply
addresses. All list messages leave the originator's
From:andCc:headers intact so a normal reply will go only to the message originator whereas a group reply or reply to all will go to all addresses that received a copy as well. However, some brain damaged mailers lose theCc:addresses, ignore theReply-To:address, or use the envelope or sender address (which is the bounce handling robot and it'll just throw your reply away since you flunked the IQ test by replying to the wrong address). Even if your mailer gets it right, you should check to be sure you aren't replying to more recipients than you intended (note cross-posting above). - Don't blind copy the lists unless you place an obvious note of what you're doing in your message. It's rude to let people think you've sent a private reply when, in fact, you've sent a blind copy to a mail list.
- Be nice. I get very upset when someone assumes my authority to be rude and annoying, so just ignore miscreants or kindly direct them to the appropriate resource and leave it at that.
By subscribing to any of the
lists, you acknowledge that you have read the above rules and agree
to abide by them.
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