English-L Usage Guide
Draft, Sept 25th, 1997
This guide is intended to assist the use of the English-L mailing
list and communicate English-L policies. This guide is posted
monthly to English-L and is available from the English-L Web Page
at http://members.tripod.com/~romaine
. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, send mail to [email protected].
Contents
What is English-L?
English-L is a mailing list where international learners discuss
studying English as a Second Language (ESL). Participants can
share opinions and experiences about learning ESL. They can also
ask and answer questions regarding English usage. Issues
tangentially related to the ESL study, such as pen-pal ads, web
site recommendations, books reviews, are also appropriate for
discussion on the list.
How do I subscribe?
You can automatically add yourself to English-L by visiting
English-L's main page at http://members.tripod.com/~romaine.
Enter your e-mail address in the "Add yourself" area
and press the "Subscribe" button. A confirmation e-mail
will be sent out immediately to you.
You can also visit the homepage of our list service provider,
Coollist, at http://www.coollist.com
to subscribe. If you have any sort of problem with subscribing,
contact the List Owner at [email protected].
How do I
unsubscribe?
Just email [email protected]
with a blank email to get more details. Unsubscription is instant
and easy!
If you have any sort of problem with unsubscribing, contact the
List Owner at [email protected].
How do I send messages to people on the list?
You may send a post to the entire list by mailing [email protected].
How do I contact the list owner, moderator, or
administrator?
The List Owner may be contacted by mailing [email protected].
Romaine Liu serves as List Owner.
What is the difference between all these e-mail
addresses?
For the smooth running of discussions on English-L, it is very
important that you use the proper e-mail address when posting to
the list, sending a command to list server, or mailing the List
Owner.
[email protected]
Messages sent to this address go to a mailing list program which
processes your unsubscription request. Do not
sent unsubscribe command to English-L@coollist
which will forward the message to hundreds of our list members!
[email protected]
Mail addressed here will be directed to the List Owner. If you
have any sort of problem with your subscription to English-L,
direct your concerns here.
[email protected] messages to the entire
list, which includes hundreds of individuals.
You should mail messages about ESL to this address. _Do not_ mail
list commands or messages for the List Owner here.
What material is inappropriate for English-L?
Just about anything to do with the English language is welcome on
English-L. The List Owner will try not to regulate the flow of
discussion on the mailing list as much as possible. However, a
few things are inappropriate for English-L. Anyone who chooses to
violate any of these rules risks losing his/her privilege of
participating in the English-L list and having his/her system
administrator notified.
1. Messages which are cross-posted to English-L and many other
discussion groups irrespective of the content of the list,
colloquially known as "spams," are not appropriate for
English-L.
2. Pyramid schemes and chain letters are inappropriate for
English-L. If a message says "pass on to as many people as
possible," don't send it to English-L.
3. It is expected that all subscribers use their valid e-mail
address when posting messages. English-L is not a forum where
anonymity is conducive to discussion. To that effect, failing to
use a valid e-mail address or forging messages to English-L or
list server under someone else's address is an abuse of
English-L. If you believe you have special concerns where you
believe you require anonymity, please mail the List Owner at [email protected]
and explain the matter. It may be possible to arrange something
that addresses the concerns of you and of English-L.
4. Never send file attachments to English-L. These can create
excessive traffic which is distributed to all subscribers. If you
wish to distribute a file, make it available on a public server
and then post the location so that interested parties can obtain
it.
5. Please do not send English reading materials to English-L
without other members' requests. There are already billions of
English articles on the net and it is unnecessary to forward them
to English-L. If you happen to find something really exceptional,
please post the location rather than the whole content. However,
if the article is written by yourself, you may post it as you
like.
6. Please cut out the advertisement footer when replying. Thank
you.
What about things like racism, flames, sexually explicit
material, and off-topic messages?
Some messages are disruptive to the discussion on English-L,
usually because they really have nothing to do with the English
language. Such off-topic messages are generally tolerated, as the
List Owner wants to keep the list open as much as possible.
_Responsibility of keeping discussions productive is that of the
individual subscribers._ In some cases, the List Owner may remind
subscribers to be considerate of others.
However, individuals should not use English-L to make personal
attacks against an individual or group of individuals.
Obscenities or sexually explicit material are not welcome here.
Realize that your message is being sent to the personal e-mail
account of hundreds of individuals, and that such posts ruin the
list for everyone. The List Owner reserves the right to take
action on such posts on a case-by-case basis. In most instances,
the List Owner will merely send a personal message to the
individuals involved, asking them to refrain from continuing
posts in this fashion. In only the most extreme cases will more
severe action be taken.
What if I have a problem with something posted to
English-L?
If you believe any message is inappropriate for English-L, please
do not respond to the entire list, as this generally exacerbates
the problem. For instance, whenever a spam is sent to the list,
not only is that message sent to every individual subscriber, so
are the several complaints which are inappropriately addressed to
the list.
If you find any message to be inappropriate, for whatever reason,
mail the List Owner at English-L-request@iname.
We will do our best to address your concerns and take action if
warranted.
Is there a English-L FAQ? Are there English-L Web
resources?
The English-L Web site is available at:
http://members.tripod.com/~romaine
. Visit it for information on English-L and ESL.
What if I disagree with something in this document?
Please send all feedback on this document to the List Owner at [email protected],
who is very interested in maintaining a healthy environment for
all subscribers. If you think something in this document needs to
be changed, please voice your opinion.