Difference between revisions of "Mailing List etiquette"

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===Why don't my emails appear on the list?===
 
===Why don't my emails appear on the list?===
 
You've probably set your preferences so that you don't receive your own emails from the list.  To change this you need to go to the [http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/options/mythtv-users mailing list options page].  Fill in your email address and password.  (Use the forgotten password link if necessary.)  The fourth and fifth options in the table are the ones that you want to look at.  You can also turn off list delivery for a while, for instance if you are going away for a while and don't want your Inbox filling up.
 
You've probably set your preferences so that you don't receive your own emails from the list.  To change this you need to go to the [http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/options/mythtv-users mailing list options page].  Fill in your email address and password.  (Use the forgotten password link if necessary.)  The fourth and fifth options in the table are the ones that you want to look at.  You can also turn off list delivery for a while, for instance if you are going away for a while and don't want your Inbox filling up.
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Additionally, if you are using Gmail, then your own posts to the list are hidden by gmail.
  
 
===Anything else I should be aware of?===
 
===Anything else I should be aware of?===

Revision as of 11:57, 27 March 2006

This could turn out to be a random list of points. Any editing is more than welcome!

General Mailing List Etiquette

Posting Style

  • Post in plain text
    • This reduces the load that the mail server has to cope with when sending your message on to the thousands of subscribers.
    • The reduced message size helps people on dial-up connections.
    • Plain text can be interpreted by all mail clients.
  • Bottom post
    • Bottom posting means adding your reply to the bottom of the previous message. This is easily achieved in all mail clients by pressing [Ctrl] and [End] before doing any other typing.
      The reason for this is best summed up in the following piece of text which one of the list members uses as his sig:
      A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
      Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
      A: Top-posting.
      Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?
    • An acceptable alternative to bottom posting is interleaving your responses with the previous message. This can help the flow of a message if the subject matter is complicated. If you do this, make sure that the previous message has each line prefixed with '>' or similar to denote that it is not your writing.
  • Trim your message
    • Always remove the unneeded parts of the previous message. This always includes the footer and signature from the previous message.
    • If the previous message is long and complicated and you are replying to only one part, only include that part in your reply.

Message Content

  • Keep it simple
    • Not all list subscribers have English as their first language. Keeping it simple gives everyone a fighting chance of understanding what you're on about.
    • The simpler your message the easier it is for people to read. The more difficult it is to read your message, the less likely that someone is going to take the time to give you an answer.

MythTV-users specific etiquette

  • Which version of Myth are you using?
    • Please state whether you are using version 0.18, version 0.18.1, 0.19, etc.
    • If you are using a version from SVN then you must include the version number. To find the SVN version number you can use svn info while in the mythtv directory. The current version will be displayed, along with other information.
  • What have you done?
    • What steps have you carried out to isolate your problem? This helps other users to determine whether your your problem is hardware, software, driver or MythTV related.
    • How reproducible is your problem? Does this happen every time you use Myth, every time your system is under load, at a specific time of day, during a particular show, on a particular channel?
  • Have you forgotten something?
    • Always read your message several times before posting it. Think about all the things that might intersect with your problem. Have you looked at all of them?
  • Finally, don't repost your message too soon
    • Although we all know that your issue is simply the most important thing on the planet, not everyone reads mythtv-users every hour, or even every day. It might be a few days before someone responds to your message.
    • If you do feel the need to remind the list about your message, then you should add what steps you've taken since your intial post.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't we have a web based forum instead of this mailing list?

This is a question that comes up on a regular basis, so unless you have a fascinating new insight into the matter it's probably best not to bring it up. Basically there are pros and cons to both mailing lists and forums; however we have a mailing list because:

  • Many users prefer managing text only emails to the graphics adverts etc that are associated with forums.
  • Somebody would have to provide (i.e pay for) the bandwith and servers needed to run a forum.
  • Web based forums are difficult to archive.
  • Most email clients such as Thunderbird (and Gmail if you like web based mail) can be configured to make dealing with mailing lists surprisingly easy.

Why don't my emails appear on the list?

You've probably set your preferences so that you don't receive your own emails from the list. To change this you need to go to the mailing list options page. Fill in your email address and password. (Use the forgotten password link if necessary.) The fourth and fifth options in the table are the ones that you want to look at. You can also turn off list delivery for a while, for instance if you are going away for a while and don't want your Inbox filling up.

Additionally, if you are using Gmail, then your own posts to the list are hidden by gmail.

Anything else I should be aware of?

  • Firstly do a search of the mailing list archives before asking a question. There's a wealth of information there. Also check out the MythTV Docs to see if your question is answered there. If you're new to mailing lists in general try to learn a bit about netiquette from a site such as this one. Three good rules to follow are:
  • When starting a new topic, don't just reply to somebody else's message and change the subject line. Doing this will retain the message headers, meaning that many people's mail readers will interpret it as a reply to the original message.
  • Try not to stray too far off topic. By all means tell us if you think something is of interest to the Myth Community, but requesting things like Gmail invites or informing us of the latest free Ipods.com offer is really not a good thing to do.