Revised SOCIAL-POLICY JISCMAIL list
Usage Guidelines
This document was last updated on 27th March 2006 by the
then list-owner
For reference the sections are:
1. Ownership of the List
2. Sending Attachments to the list
3. Debates on the List
4. Advertising on the List
5. Limiting Message Volume by Subscribing only to the Digest of Postings
6. Leaving the List
7. Suspending mail when you are away/If you e-mail address changes
8. Netiquette
9. Viewing the User Guide
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1. Ownership of the
List
The social-policy list is run by the Social Policy Association (SPA) as a service to all members of the social policy community, be they SPA members or not – though we do encourage list members to join the SPA. It aims to provide a forum for the exchange of information and views amongst those within the social policy academic/teaching/research community. More information about the SPA can be found at www.social-policy.com
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2. Sending
Attachments to the List
There has been concern from time-to-time about large attachments being sent to the list. The basic policy in relation to attachments is that we strongly encourage people to send plain text messages rather than attachments where possible. There
are three key reasons for this:
(i) it is an ineffective way of spreading your message. Not all members can read attachments and many find them irritating. If you CAN, it is better to send your message as a plain, text based e-mail
(ii) e-mail attachments are the most effective way to spread computer viruses - something as an innocent word processed document can inadvertently contain a viruses that is set loose once the attachment is opened. While the JISCMAIL systems automatically detect attachments for viruses it is better
(iii) attachments can be a real nuisance for members with slow machines or those who work with dial-up modem connections. This is especially the case with large attachments that can take a considerable time to download and, as a consequence, put someone's machine out of action while they try to download an attachment that may even be of no interest to them.
In some cases there may be a need to circulate a large document quickly to as many members of the social policy community as possible and so the use of attachments can be unavoidable. However, if you are posting a flyer for a study day, conference, new
journal or book, please refer list members to a website where they can view full details, rather than sending full details to the list if this is possible.
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3. Debates on the
List.
The social-policy list is run by the Social Policy Association (SPA) as a service to all members of the social policy community, be they SPA members or not. It aims to provide a forum for the exchange of information and views. As such, social-policy relevant debates can and should be accommodated on the list. Against this, the volume of messages being posted to the list needs to be manageable for average list members; if, at some future point, the number of messages gets out of hand, this policy will be reviewed.
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4. Advertising on the
List
Except for the above caveat re attachments, we do not have any objections to people advertising books, journals, pamphlets, conferences, study days, job vacancies and training events on the list, as long as they are relevant to the concerns of social-policy list members. If you wish to advertise such items you do not need to contact the list-owner for permission – they can be posted directly to the list.
There has been some discussion concerning the advertising of degrees on the list. The general consensus is that members should not advertise general vacancies for degrees on the list - this holds the possibility of the list degenerating into cyber junk mail as all institutions try to take advantage of free advertising. However, if you have FUNDED places for graduate study (e.g. university scholarships), this is a different
matter - the list can and should be a forum for highlighting such opportunities.
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5. Limiting Message
Volume by Subscribing only to the Digest of Postings
If you find the volume of messages from the list overwhelming with you can opt to receive messages in a DIGEST form. This means you will receive just one consolidated message per day that draws together all of that day's messages. To receive messages in digest form, you need to send a message to jiscmail@jiscmail.ac.uk (NB: Please enter the right address - DO NOT send this message to the social-policy list) with the following text in the message:
set social-policy digest
The digest messages DO NOT contain attachments so can be particularly useful for list members concerned about this issues; if an attachment mentioned in a digested messages looks of interest it can subsequently be downloaded from the list’s web based archives at: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/social-policy.html
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6. Leaving the List
To leave the list, you need to send a message to jiscmail@jiscmail.ac.uk (NB: Please enter the right address - DO NOT send this message to the social-policy list) with the following text in the message:
leave social-policy
You can then read messages via the web by visiting: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/social-policy.html
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7. Suspending
mail when you are away/If you e-mail address changes
Following from netiquette, a couple of tips relating to the management
of e-mail accounts.
(i) If you are going to be away from your computer for a while AND have set an auto-reply message to inform people you are away PLEASE suspend messages from the social-policy list too. If you do not do this, then anyone sending a message to the list will receive your auto-reply message - particularly annoying if they do not know you and even worse if they do and had thought you were finally getting in touch with them
again...
To suspend mail, send a message to jiscmail@jiscmail.ac.uk (NB: Please enter the right address - DO NOT send this message to the social-policy list) with the following text in the message:
set social-policy nomail
When you return and want to receive mail again, repeat the process, but send the following message:
set social-policy mail
If you are a member of more than one jiscmail list, you can automatically suspend/resume mail from all lists by replacing social-policy with *
(ii) If you are changing your e-mail address, please remember to update your details on the social-policy list. To leave the list, send a message from your current address before it changes, to jiscmail@jiscmail.ac.uk (NB: Please enter the right address - DO NOT send this message to the social-policy list) with the following text in the message:
leave social-policy
When your new e-mail address is active, you can re-join the list via the web; go to the social-policy list's home page (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/social-policy.html) and follow the on-line instructions.
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8. Netiquette
At present, social-policy is an open list; anyone, anywhere in the world, is free to join the list and post messages. The list currently has in the region of 1,000 members, meaning we are a sizeable community. Like any community, we need some rules to operate smoothly. JISCMAIL have quite extensive guidelines concerning netiquette, acceptable behaviour and so on (on the web at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/policy/etiquette.htm ). I just want to highlight two that we have had need to remind people of in the past:
(i) please respect other members of the list, even if you do not agree with their views. If anyone is completely out of line I can instruct jiscmail to remove them from the list, but, happily, we have not had to do this yet on the social-policy list. Some individuals have, however, been subjected to unwarranted abuse in previous years, which has been unwelcome and unpleasant.
(ii) please be tolerant of other member's mistakes. If someone sends a message that inconveniences you personally, please try to avoid web rage! While large attachments or multiple mailings of messages have caused irritation over the years, these have generally been genuine errors committed by well meaning people who weren't fully aware of the problems they were causing. We need to educate rather than berate! If you have a concern, complain to the list owner NOT the list.
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line 577.
yle='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>9. Viewing the User Guide
Jiscmail have produced on-line user guides that summarise the key commands. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm for an overview of the key commands or http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/index.htm to see a wider range of documentation visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/policy/etiquette.htm
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If you have got this far, thank you for reading... any queries, please contact me at jrh10@york.ac.uk and I will do my best to help.
List Owner.
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Dr
Lecturer in Social Policy,
Department of Social Policy and Social Work,
YO10 5DD,
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/spsw/
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