Mailing List Etiquettes
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ILUG-Bom Mailing List Guidelines
No HTML Mail, Please
Set your mailer to send only plain text messages to the list (How?). Why? HTML is designed for web pages, not emails, and uses a lot more bandwidth. Many list members actually block HTML because it is used for malicious code. (see "7 reasons why HTML e-mail is EVIL!")
See also Web-based Yahoo! email users (newbies) - Plaintext Emails
If No HTML / Formatted Mail, Plain Text doesn't allow formatting, How do I format / emphasize?
Considering that you would require the basic formatting (excluding font and its size), you can assume the following guidelines for basic formatting
Boldface - *text between these two asterisks is bold* - use * to begin and * to end bold text
Italic - /text between these two slashes is italics/ - use / to begin and / to end italic text
Underline - _text between these underscore lines is underlined_ - use _ to begin and _ to end underline text
Starting a New Subject
When you send in a new topic, do not start by replying to an existing message, but rather, start a new message to "linuxers@mm.ilug-bom.org.in". This keeps messages organized by thread, for people who like to use threads (on high-volume mailing lists, threads can be a great convenience).
Write a Good Subject Line
Make a subject line that clearly tells us what you need. This is a point that can't be overemphasized. Try Can't get past partitioning on XYZ instead of Argh - help me!!! Why? So that people with certain skills, looking for someone to help, will notice your message. That helps you get help from the right people quickly.
On a high volume list like this, many people just skim through the subject lines and only read the messages that catch their interest. So, by creating a good subject line, you increase the chances that your message is actually going to be read and eventually answered.
If You Are Replying to a Message...
Make sure we can tell what you are replying to. Place each part of your reply after the text it addresses (i.e., no top posting, please - see the Top posting article on wikipedia and links therein for more on this). Most mail readers automatically put a '>' character in front of each replied-to line. It gives a conversational flow to the text, and people know what you're replying to. Trim irrelevant material. It makes it easier to read your reply and helps the reader to stay on subject.
Let Us Know When Your Question is Answered
When you get a solution to your question (or find it yourself after posting to the list), reply to your original e-mail describing what solved your problem, adding a [SOLVED] to the end of the subject line. This will let people know that you don't need help any more with this and can look for other posts to help. Also, it makes a search in the archives easier when someone has a related problem in the future.
Unsubscribing
To unsubscribe from the list you can visit the ILUG-Bom mailing list web page.
Avoid long signatures and disclaimers
We find value in your main content rather than signatures. One or two lines would be optimal and no more than four lines, to convey messages that must be included in your signature and avoid huge disclaimers describing how your mail is private and confidential while sending things to the mailing list. If your company/organisation enforces that in the mail gateway, use a webmail with pop/imap access like GMail for instance. Such disclaimers aren't enforceable half of the time and are monumentally silly in a public mailing list.
Acknowledgements
This document grew from the work of James McKenzie, Duncan Lithgow, Gustavo Seabra, David Curry, James Wilkinson, Perry Spiller, Christofer C. Bell and various people's useful comments and is in the spirit of the: "RedHat Install List (RHIL) Unofficial User's Guide" and "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way".
Netiquette discussions are always ongoing and previously established conventions are continually revisited. Please read these guidelines in the spirit intended: to create a living document that reflects group consensus. Remember, you are more likely to receive answers to your questions if you adhere to these guidelines.
Shamelessly lifted from the Fedora Project Wiki.
