AERGC Forum Etiquette

Forum Do’s:

Identify Subject Matter: Not everyone has time to read all forum postings. To ensure that your message reaches the right people in a timely manner, identify your subject matter clearly in the subject line. Subjects like “A question” and “Help needed” are not informative and when they are added to the archives, they reveal no detail to the contents of the message, making searching for relevant archive information more difficult.

Know Who you Are Replying To (or Keep your Private Messages Private)  Some subscribers have gotten themselves into some embarrassing situations by not being careful about who they are replying to.  By default, replies to the Forum are sent out to all subscribers.  If you have a personal message to one of your good buddies, or are going to ask for more information on that job offer that was just posted because you are sick of your current boss, that’s fine, but please pause before hitting the send button and make sure you have the intended e-mail address in your e-mail’s “To:” slot.  This will keep your private messages private.

Respect Privacy: Unless a Forum member agrees to have their name and contact information given to parties outside the Forum, do not pass such information out. It is more appropriate to send the Forum member the contact information of the outside party for them to contact if they so desire.

Be Patient: A number of Forum members receive the posts in digest form in a daily single mailing at the end of the day. Several users are only subscribed through their work address and do not have access on weekends and holidays. This means that posts and responses to posts can take several days to be received and replied to.

Be Civil: No personal attacks. If you feel the need to flame someone, please do it in private e-mail. Do not feel compelled to defend your honor in public.

Forum Do Not’s:

No Advertising.  The Forum is a strictly non-commercial venue.  Subscribers from the commercial sector are welcome (and often do) post informational replies and their own queries for information to the Forum.  Their input is generally well received and usually highly regarded.  If they happen to cross the line into advertising a product or service they offer, to be sure, it will not be taken kindly to by many Forum participants. 

“Thank-You”s are Not Required.  The Forum, by its nature, is a helpful place.  It is not necessary to post a thank-you for replies to your post.  Please be aware that you are not likely the only one to benefit from the replies and you may get more (and even better) responses after you get the urge to send out a thank-you message.  Save your efforts for the times you can assist others with a useful reply.

No Spamming: Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will occasionally see spam. If you feel the need to flame the spammer, do not CC the list. Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. It may make you feel better, but it doesn't help. It is unacceptable for Forum members to “harvest” email addresses off of the Forum for personal spamming or corporate use.