Credit where credit is due: these guidelines are substantially, and occasionally literally, based on PUBRADIO s rules for posting.

Transcription

1 Listserv Guidelines and Etiquette These guidelines were developed and approved by the ACVM Board of Governors to clarify what is and is not appropriate for subscribers to post to the ACVM ListServ. The ListServ moderator will attempt to be fair and interpret these guidelines broadly. However, flagrant abusers of the rules will be removed from the ListServ. We respectfully request your cooperation in the following these guidelines. Credit where credit is due: these guidelines are substantially, and occasionally literally, based on PUBRADIO s rules for posting. Guidelines for Posting to the ACVM ListServ: Please observe a limit of two postings per day per participant. The ACVM ListServ should not be treated as a chat room. Try to keep the length of your posting as short as possible. A good guideline for a length limit is about 300 words. When you reply to message do not include the entire messages you responding to in your posting. It is far more useful to quote only the essential elements of the original message or briefly restate the points you are responding to. Do not use REPLY to respond directly to the author of a posted message unless it is intended to be posted to the ACVM ListServ. Remember, REPLY sends mail to everyone on the ListServ (it s very easy it to get caught on this). Instead, use your mail program to send a direct message to that person. If you feel you must flame someone, do not do it on the ACVM ListServ. This rule is not meant to squelch legitimate, sometimes heated discussion. It is meant to discourage publicly waged attacks, especially those that do not deal with issues but rather devolve into ad hominem attacks on authors or commenters. Attachments are not allowed on this ListServ. Attachments also can and have carried potentially harmful viruses (witness the outbreak of the Melissa Virus). If you must share documents with some ListServ members, please do so privately by and only use the ListServ for general comments and discussion. The ACVM will create a website where some documents for common consideration can be posted. You should not send anything to the ACVM ListServ that existed as a word processing document UNLESS you FIRST convert it to plain ASCII text. In most cases, you can simply cut and paste from your original document to your message. If you have any questions, please contact your local network administrator. Do not use your browser to send (HTML script is embedded in the message that looks like garbage to most readers). Promotions or solicitations of any commercial or semi-commercial materials by anyone who has a vested interest in those items are prohibited.

2 o Vendors (who are also members) may respond to queries made by ListServ subscribers about specific products, as long as their response provides scientific data or insight about the question and doesn t contain commercially-oriented material. o For example, questions to the maker of the HPV vaccine could provide data and interpretation/analysis in support of the reduction in the incidence rate of sexually-transmitted diseases and cancer since introduction, and could provide links to CDC recommendations on usage and coverage, but should not include commercial entreaties to buy the product or anything similar. Links to a find a dealer site would be acceptable, but solicitations or provision of contact information would not be acceptable. Job announcements are acceptable. We encourage users to include detailed job descriptions, salary ranges, and links to online application sites or contacts for further information whenever possible. However, announcements for specific positions should not be posted to the ListServ more than once in any seven day period. Posting of copyrighted material is prohibited. Do not post clippings from copyrighted publications such as the New York Times or others. Instead, provide a web link in your message, an indication if there is a pay wall, and a summary of the article s content. Your message should be readable. Spelling and punctuation count. The same goes for using complete paragraphs and sentences, structurally sound development of ideas in your text, and other grammatical niceties. Properly spelled and formatted s help list members figure out what you're trying to say, and spelling mistakes may make it impossible to find your message in an archive search. ALL CAPS can be used for emphasis of specific words or phrases, but should not be used in the entire message. Messages may not start in the subject line and continue the sentence in the text box. o Please keep your messages simple and well-constructed for list members who are sight-impaired or for whom English is a second language. Messages that contain forwarded, indented information should be cut and formatted to facilitate ease of reading long chains of forwarded material will be deleted because these messages are especially difficult to read. Respect the privacy of others. Posting someone's private or personal information (e.g. home address or phone number) without their permission is not allowed. Forwarding or reposting somebody's off-list correspondence to the list is not allowed. The only exceptions to this are compilations of off-list replies provided as a service to the community. Compilations of responses to requests for information or services are encouraged. The original requestor should encourage private replies, compile the information provided, and then post the body of information to the ListServ for use by the community and/or inclusion in the archives. If you create a compilation, it's helpful to add "Compilation: (Paste original subject here)" to the subject line of the original post. It is generally

3 courteous to cut out your correspondents' names, unless the message specifically authorizes you to use the person's name in a compilation. It is not wise to carry on "meta-discussions" about whether a given discussion is appropriate. This type of traffic mushrooms until nobody can find the messages that belong. Assume that the list moderator has privately contacted anyone who engages in or contributes to such conversations, and that they will shut down conversations that are no longer deemed appropriate. Thanks in advance for your cooperation and attention to these items! Welcome Letter (to be converted to plain text so we re consistent with our own guidance) PLEASE KEEP THIS LETTER FOR FUTURE REFERENCE Dear Colleagues, Welcome to the ListServ of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists. This ListServ is an important component of the College s efforts to bring health and development professionals together to focus on practical, community-level issues, as well as a discussion forum for Diplomates to comment on issues in veterinary bacteriology, virology, immunology, or parasitology. This robust membership represents diverse perspectives and can provide opportunities for sharing opinions, views and expert advice. Please be open-minded and considerate of the viewpoints expressed by all members, even if these views differ from your own. All subscribers are encouraged to participate in the conversations. Participants are encouraged to share ideas and observations, identify gaps and promising practices, and collaborate to create the next generation of tools, guidance and insight. All submitted postings should be pertinent to the work of veterinary microbiology researchers or diagnosticians, and of obvious or potential value to the majority of subscribers. This moderated ListServ reaches hundreds of subscribers of the veterinary microbial and diagnostic community. It is field-focused and serves to relay quality communications related to: Funding opportunities Meetings, trainings and other relevant events Changes in relevant policies and guidelines

4 New tools, reports, and training materials relevant to the community Results of research and other studies (e.g. case reports, observed and/or emerging trends, etc.) News articles relevant to community or veterinary health Personal information is generally not recommended. However, information such as the relocation of a major laboratory, the announcement of a change in the College s leadership, or a death announcement of a prominent, long-standing member of the veterinary microbial community is acceptable. Generally, personal information will not be excluded by moderators unless it appears to be included in error or outside the bounds of normally-respected privacy concerns (e.g. posting of a third party s personal information). Participants of this ListServ are encouraged to foster community collaboration by: Posting content as described above Soliciting methods, tools and processes to support community-oriented activities Offering user feedback on existing tools and processes Offering observations or insights on new and/or emerging trends in veterinary microbiology or diagnostics Providing information, insight, or experience on any professional issues facing the community How to participate: Post by simply sending an to acvm_diplomates@lists.service.ohio-state.edu Subject lines should be concise and informative. The ListServ moderator is unable to change the subject line of an submitted for posting. Therefore, please include a subject line reflective of your post to help subscribers manage incoming messages. o If responding to a post but changing the subject, please create a new subject line as a courtesy to subscribers. An appropriate way of doing so is to reference the old subject in the new subject as follows: Subject: Microbe Data (was: Test Development). o Also related to the above, if you receive a Digest version of the list and wish to reply to one of the messages contained therein, please change the Digest subject line to be the same as the message you are responding to, and delete all of the messages in the Digest with the exception of the one you are addressing. Sign your messages preferably with your full name, but at a minimum with your first name, and address. You do not need to include your work address or phone number, and should never include personal information. While the moderators may add a list member's name to a post as a courtesy (we know who you are), most of the time

5 unsigned messages will simply be deleted. Screen names are not an acceptable substitute for an informative signature. Initials (either as a substitute for your first or last name) are not acceptable, since they create a sense of anonymity that we want to avoid. For example, messages may not be signed solely as "T. Smith" or "Jane R. without further professional identifying information. In preparing a message, be aware that people will be reading your post on many different hardware platforms (DOS, Mac, Unix, etc.) and software programs. Cute pictures and dividing lines which look fine on your system may be unrecognizable on someone else's system. Plain ASCII text posts are preferred. Please do not include notes to the moderators in the message. Write your message exactly as you want it to appear on the list. o If you need to contact the moderators, please send an to them at FirstName.LastName@XXXX.org, or contact the list administrator at ACVMadmin@XXXX.org. Your messages will be the most readable if you keep these things in mind while you are composing them: Keep your lines under 80 characters, and under 72 if possible. Most text editors have a fill or format mode that will do this for you automatically. Do not justify your messages. Line (or right, or full) justified text is almost always harder to read than leaving ragged right margins. Most special control characters and formatting will not work on many systems. In fact, the space character is about the only one can be sure will work consistently. Even tabs aren't always the same from machine to machine, and should be avoided. Many mail clients will re-map control characters. Pictures and diagrams should not use imbedded tabs. Submissions in a single case (all upper or all lower) are very difficult to read. Cross-posts (posting the same message on multiple ListServs or blogs) are generally discouraged, but will be allowed within reason to ensure full communication of important information. No political statements, or consulting, marketing, or fundraising efforts are allowed. Thanks in advance for your cooperation and attention to these items. Further information can be found in the Listserv Guidelines posted on our website (REF). Please review this information as additional guidance on message structure and content is provided there. ((The below will depend on how our host works update as needed. These are just included as the type of info that should go out in this letter)) How to receive a daily digest of the ListServ messages, instead of each when it is posted:

6 1. If you have not already, create a password by following this link: Type in your address. Your password will be sent to your Go to the ListServ webpage: 3. Sign in with your and password 4. Click on ACVMcommunity under Your Groups 5. Click on Subscriber Options 6. Under receiving mode there should be an option to receive digest MIME format. Choose that selection and you should start receiving daily digests instead of individual s. To unsubscribe send a blank , with no subject line to: ACVMcommunity-unsubscribe@XXXX.org Suggestions and comments are welcome, as we try to keep this ListServ relevant and practical. Send them to: ACVMadmin@XXXX.org. For the sign-up website: Only registered members will be able to send and receive s addressed to the ACVM ListServ. Requesting Access: To request access, simply your request to ACVMListServ@XXXX.org, with the following information: Name Organization The address to which you would like the ListServ messages to be sent. o Please note that you may only post messages using the address that you requested subscribed to the ListServ.

7 Once your request has been processed you will receive an from the ListServ administrator confirming your membership to the ListServ and containing some basic information on how the ListServ works. Further information on ListServ rules and etiquette can be found here (REF) If you did not receive your confirmation , it may be getting caught in your spam filter. If you have checked your spam settings and junk folder, and you are still not receiving any messages from the ListServ, please contact the list administrator at ((The below will depend on how our host works update as needed. These are just included as the type of info that should go out in this letter)) Updating your Information: To change your address or subscription type for either ListServ please send an to outlining the changes you wish to make. Requesting Removal: To request your removal from either ListServ, please and provide the address you want removed. ((Put the Listserv Guidelines and Etiquette here and only have one web page for the ListServ?))