The Brin-L Mailing List exists for the discussion of matters pertaining to the writings of Drs. Brin and Benford and topics of interest to list members.

As members of a civilization, these are the guidelines we agree to live under:

• We post every message we write as if we were going to read it aloud in front of the whole group.
• We give each other the benefit of the doubt.  If you think you've been offended, read the offending message > again... ALOUD... TWICE! Consider that there may be a milder way to interpret the remark. Then ASK the perpetrator if they meant the worse version. Ask others if they saw it that way. The word is "Paraphrase." (added by David Brin, 9/16/02) 
• We sign our messages with our name and e-mail address.
• We are tolerant of subject threads that bore us to death.
• We keep subject lines appropriate to the contents of the message.
• We do NOT include the entire message to which we are replying.
• We DO include a few lines if our reply can't stand on its own.
• We DO keep attributions correctly assigned to the original poster.
• We do NOT send terse, one line replies.
• We use emphasis to make our comments clear. (Stars, smilies, etc.)
• We use white space and keep our paragraphs short.
• We keep our line length below 80 characters.
• If our reply is more appropriately directed only at the original poster, we don't send it to the entire list.
• If our message is funny, frivolous, humourous, or is generally silly in nature, we add a "Silly/Humor" flag to the subject line so others can identify it easily.
• We flag long messages with "GLL", "ELL" or "L3" in the subject line. (In deference to our Grand Past Alpha Mails this stands for "Gord like length", "Eythain like length" or "Lazh like length".)

We agree that:

• Questions are welcome.
• Extensive discussions that get into the nitty-gritty of the subject are welcome.
• Funny, silly, frivolous, amusing, playful, joking, cheerful postings are welcome. Original humor, especially if it pertains to an existing thread, is quite welcome. Forwarding blanket humor from other sources is discouraged, but not forbidden.
• We are a multilingual group, and as such we tolerate mistakes and idiosyncracies when they show up on the list in English (American English). We remember that some folks may not be the best typists around, and tolerate those mistakes as well. We all will kindly answer any questions others have about our native language in a friendly manner.
• Brin and Benford ROCK. =+))  Trevor Sands is the best screen writer ever. Most of the time we think Iain Banks is pretty cool, too.

We will further endeavor to remember, as David Brin says, to "Remind yourself, now and then, to say the following phrase: 'I am a member of a civilization.' (IAAMOAC). Our society has its flaws, but if you ponder history, and cantankerous human nature, it's astonishing how far we've come. We just don't say IAAMOAC often enough. "

We further agree that:

• Personal attacks, whether direct or indirect are not welcome. These should be handled off list, and if you disagree with some controversial point, direct the attack at the argument, not the person.
• Abusive or inflammatory language is not welcome.
• Profanity is not welcome.
• Chain letters are not welcome.
• Mail bombs to each other are not welcome.
• The Listowners have the right to remove someone who does not wish to comport themselves in a manner concordant with our civilization.

Thank you,

Jo Anne
Lady of the List, Bearer of the High Standards, Owner of the 7th Chalice of Betazed etc.  (I still like these titles! Maybe I should get a business card for introductions with these titles on it? ;+))

Note: This list was written using another set of guidelines originally composed by Donna Hrynkiw of Vancouver, British Columbia - and is used with her permission.
evenstar@hevanet.com Etiquette Guidelines © Jo Anne Bird. Used with permission.