1 - ABOUT THE VMUG LIST

The purpose of the VMUG Computer Society, and therefore the VMUG listserv, is to share information, resources and enthusiasm about Apple Macintosh computers and related computer products. These rules are meant to facilitate that purpose. Membership in the listserv is a privilege of membership in VMUG. Failure to comply with its rules can result in the loss of that privilege.

2 - CONTENT RULES

1. No flaming. This includes rudeness, derogatory personal remarks (either directly to or about a member) or any remarks that could be considered inappropriate in polite company (e.g., sexist, racist, profane, etc.).
   
2. No messages that appear to be argumentative or confrontational. If you would like an opinion on a subject, you can post the request to the listserv, but the discussion must continue through private group email.
   
3. No off-topic posts. This listserv has a stated purpose, and posts must fit that purpose.
   
4. No messages containing blatant commercial advertising. If there is a commercial opportunity, i.e.: special promotion, that would be of interest to the members, a short, to-the-point post with a reference to a web site would be appropriate.
   
5. Announcements of personal sales of used equipment (Mac related) ARE permissible.
   
6. No complaints about a member’s listserv behaviour. These must be made to the executive at <executive@vmug.bc.ca>, NOT to the listserv.
   

3 - FORMAT RULES

1. No attachments including vcards (.vcf).
   
2. Plain text messages only, no ‘styled’ text or HTML. This includes bolding, underlining and large fonts.
   
3. Messages should feature a subject relating to the body of the message.
   
4. Replies to messages should include only the relevant portions of the original. They should not include any signatures or list trailer messages.
   
5. Message size is restricted to 10k.
   

4 - Procedures for dealing with contravention of the rules

The executive will use three levels of intervention when there is a problem with a member contravening the rules of the listserv:

1. If a member sends a post to the listserv that is deemed to contravene the above rules, that member will be informed of the complaint and the executive decision to intervene and put on moderated status for a period of one week or until the moderator is satisfied that the member has cleaned up their emails.
   
2. If after being returned to unmoderated status that member again contravenes the rules, the member will be informed that this is their second contravention of the rules and will be suspended from list privileges for a period not to exceed 30 days and will then be placed on moderated status as in guideline number 1.
   
3. If after having their list privileges reinstated a member contravenes the rules for a third time, they will be removed from the list permanently without notice. Removal from the listserv does not constitute loss of membership in VMUG.
   

A complaint about a member’s conduct can come from any member, including an executive member; must be accompanied by the offending email; and must be received by the executive within a reasonable time. The complaint is to be made to <executive@vmug.bc.ca>, not the listserv.

The complaint will be voted on by the directors on the executive listserv. If at least 3 of the 5 directors agree that a rule has been broken, the above steps will be taken.

Since we are asking that most of the responses to questions on the listserv be made to private email addresses, we feel an obligation to the members to extend these rules to any email transaction between members that began on the listserv. In other words, if a member starts to be rude through the personal email (not on the listserv) in response to a question from the listserv, the above rules and consequences will apply.

Not withstanding the above guidelines, the list administrator/moderator may, at any time and at his or her discretion, place the entire list or any individual member(s) on temporary moderated status to allow time for a matter to be referred to the executive for adjudication.

The executive reserves the right to modify these rules and procedures when necessary.

5 - SENDING MESSAGES to the vmug_members List

1. All messages must be sent from the same address as the one you are subscribed to the List, i.e. if you are subscribed as somebody@islandnet.com you MUST send messages from somebody@islandnet.com
   
2. Messages are limited to 10K in size and attachments are not tolerated on the vmug_members List.
   

6 - SETTING YOUR LIST OPTIONS

Using a Web Browser such as Safari 2, Netscape, or Internet Explorer, go to the General List Information page for the vmug_members list: http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/vmug_members

In the section "Member Options" enter the email address that you are subscribed to the list with and click on "Unsubscribe or Edit Options". You will then be asked to enter your own individual password, which you should have received when you were first subscribed and are sent at the beginning of each month. If you have forgotten your password click on the "Remind" button in the section Password Reminder". DO NOT use Unsubscribe if you are going away and wish to resubscribe upon your return, use the "Mail Delivery" option on the Options page.

After entering your password you will be taken to a page where you can configure your individual options.

Generally speaking you only need to be concerned with the first 2 options,
" Mail Delivery" and "Set Digest Mode".

MAIL DELIVERY - To STOP receiving email from the list but still remain subscribed (such as when you go on vacation) Set this option to Disabled. When you return don't forget to set it to Enabled to receive email from the list again.

SET DIGEST MODE - If you wish to receive all messages sent to the list over a period of time as a single message rather than as individual messages, set this option to ON.

7 - LIST ARCHIVE

8 - PROBLEMS- If you have PROBLEMS with the list:

Robin Tamasi, listserv@vmug.bc.ca
VMUG Listserv Maintainer
VMUG Secretary