On-line etiquette is a recurring issue in many forums.
Although some baseline standards of behavior are widely accepted,
these are subject to interpretation.
The following guidelines are an attempt to summarize what the
listowner believes to be a consensus of Savoynet members, though
it should be understood that there is invariably some disagreement
at the margins.
- Stay on-topic. The field of
Gilbert & Sullivan is amazingly broad and encompasses
many cognate subjects. Posts can be humorous, light and
entertaining; or, they may be deep, serious and scholarly.
But, whatever else they may be, each posting should
have a bearing, however tenuous, on the topic of G&S.
- Keep quoted material to a minimum.
You can generally assume that subscribers have read earlier
posts. Therefore, you need not quote extensively in your
reply. Quote only as much as needed to establish the context
for what you want to say. At the very least, edit out saluation
and signature lines. Often, you can get along without quoting
at all.
- Eschew frivolous posts. A frivolous
post is one which says little more than "I agree" or "Me too."
Remember, your post is going to hundreds of people.
Many of them have significant limitations
on the amount of email they can keep up with. While this should
not deter you from making a contribution that you consider
meaningful, you should avoid posts that make no
perceptible contribution to a discussion, other than indicating
agreement with what has already been said. On a list Savoynet's size,
somebody probably agrees with practically any statement.
Indicating agreement, and nothing else, is not helpful.
- Do not make ad hominem attacks.
An ad hominem attack is criticism directed at a
person rather than an idea. By all
means feel free to disagree with any comment posted on Savoynet.
But, direct your response to the comment itself, not the person
who made it.
- Do not Violate Copyright.
Do not post copyrighted material to Savoynet without the
copyright owner's permission. Newspaper and magazine articles
that you find on the web, for example, are almost surely copyrighted.
Feel free to post a brief excerpt, with a link, which others may follow
to the source.
- Read your inbox before replying.
If you are behind on your mail, there's a good chance that the
comment you're about to make, or the answer you're about to
supply, has already been posted by someone else. Discussion
threads take many twists and turns, and it is better to post
one contribution to the thread after you've fully
caught up, than to reply individually to each message.
- Use private email. Not
all replies are of general interest. Use private email if
your reply is directed at an individual, rather than the
entire list.
Other netiquette resources include:
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Last Modified: 7-Aug-16
This page maintained by Marc Shepherd
URL: http://savoynet.oakapplepress.com/manners.html