Ten Tips for Successful Discussion List Participation
The information here pertains only to subscribers of lists hosted by the Resource Center. For assistance with other discussion lists, contact the list administrator at the host organization.
1 ) Subscribe first.
You must be subscribed to a list before you can post to the distribution address. To post a message to the list, send an e-mail message to listname@lists.etr.org, where “listname” is the name of the discussion list. For example, to post a message to the Senior Corps list (“NSSCtalk”), send a message to nssctalk@lists.etr.org. Visit the E-mail Discussion List page to find a list of interest; use the “Subscribe” link to join.
2) Save your welcome message.
Save the welcome message and instructions that were e-mailed to you when you subscribed to the list. They will be helpful when you want to unsubscribe, change your e-mail address, or change your settings.
3) Be respectful.
When you subscribe to an e-mail discussion list, be aware that you are joining a public discussion with hundreds of participants (sometimes more). As with any professional forum, it is important to be respectful in all communications and to understand the guidelines for use — this includes proper attention to and understanding of prohibited content, copyright law, and the Corporation’s disclaimer.
4) Get oriented.
When you first join a list, begin by reading the posts for about a week before contributing; this allows you to understand the list’s focus and culture. Listening in will also help you avoid sending redundant or unnecessary messages.
5) Be thoughtful about replies: entire list or individual?
When you click “reply” to a list post, the message will be sent back to the entire list of subscribers. When a reply is personal in nature or otherwise not intended for the entire list, be sure to copy and paste the sender's e-mail address into the "To" field of a new message.
6) Avoid potentially embarrassing mistakes.
- Proofread and spell-check your message.
- Leave the “To” field blank until your message has been written and proofed; this ensures you send it to the right person/list and only when it is ready.
- Avoid negative or personal comments (aka "flaming"); likewise, do not respond to negative or personal comments.
7) Be substantial but to the point.
Keep the subject matter in line with the list's purpose. Send only messages with substance: No need to reply to the entire list a message that says “Thank you” or “I agree.” When responding to a post, delete any unnecessary portions from the initial posting to keep the new response from getting too long.
8 ) Use descriptive subject lines.
Use an appropriately descriptive subject line, and feel free to change the subject line if it is no longer relevant when a thread moves into a different line of discussion.
9) Do not send virus warnings.
Many, many virus warnings are hoaxes so please don’t forward them to the discussion list. If you are looking for information about viruses and hoaxes, visit an authoritative source such as:
10) Send your technical support questions to the list administrator.
Do not post technical support questions to the entire list. If you have any problems related to a list hosted by the Resource Center, send an e-mail directly to the list administrator.
