Ready to start a new Email Discussion Group?
It’s always a good idea to start with some basic Guidelines. That way, everyone knows what to expect…..and also what’s expected of them. Proactive guidelines are also a great way to foster a positive community culture.
Most email discussion groups find it useful to have rules that all members abide by. Often, these rules came about to resolve a particular problem. Instead of reinventing the wheel, try borrowing some wisdom from other groups and adopt these guidelines for your community.
Guidelines don’t have to be complicated. They can be as simple as Be Kind. And, if you ever need to moderate any conversations, you have guidelines to point to.
Mailing List Guidelines
General Guidelines
- Have respect for others.
- Be polite.
- Debate the issue but do not engage in personal attacks.
- Before posting a question, first search and read past messages. It may have been answered in the past, sometimes more than once.
- Send descriptive questions or informational messages.
- Write a good subject line. It grabs everyone’s attention.
- Keep your messages closely related to the topic of the list.
- If in doubt, send a message to the List Moderator and ask.
- Keep your email short and to the point.
- Write in clear, grammatical, correctly spelled language.
- Don’t send meaningless messages like “me too” or “thank you“. They don’t contribute to the conversation and just clutter up the Inbox..
- Provide URLs to articles, wherever possible.
- Include your real name and email address in messages.
- Don’t be critical of people’s questions posted to the email discussion group.
- Don’t send copyrighted material.
- Don’t send somebody else’s private email without the permission of the person.
- Follow up with a brief note on the solution.
- Encourage newcomers to lurk for a while and absorb the “style” of your group, before posting any messages.
- No chain letters.
- No self-promotion, job listings, or advertising.
- Commercial posts are not acceptable, although you may provide your commercial contact information in your signature.
- No discussions about politics or religion.
- Avoid sarcasm and humor to keep from being misunderstood.
- Above all, be kind!
Email Mechanics and Formatting Mailing List Guidelines
- Don’t copy the entire previous message when replying.
- Quote only the relevant portion of messages you respond to.
- No TYPING IN ALL CAPS. People think you’re yelling at them!
- Don’t send styled text or HTML messages. Send only plain text email.
- Don’t send attachments.
- Change the Subject line when the subject of the thread changes.
- When responding to a Digest/Summary email, be sure to change the subject to match that of the original message.
- Keep your signature concise.
- Do not send subscribe, unsubscribe, or other administrative messages to the list.
- Start a new thread for each new topic. Don’t hijack other people’s conversations!
And find out how to use Plain Text Email for your group’s messages.
Do you have certain guidelines that have been useful for your group? Please let us know in the comments below.
