Ezine, Discussion and Announcement List Etiquette

The information super highway; countless intertwining roads
of information all merging into one massive freeway. That's
the Internet. Just about any form of information you could
ever want, right at your fingertips.

The Internet is far more than just websites. Information is
delivered via email, downloads, newsgroups and forums just
to name a few. In addition, there are literally thousands of
ezines, discussion groups and announcement lists.

These groups are composed of individuals who either receive
information in the form of a publication or share information
with a group. Although these lists can provide you with a
wealth of information, they can be very time consuming for
the owners. With that in mind, this article will provide you
with some basic list etiquette guidelines.

Ezines

Ezines, also known as email magazines, online publications
and electronic newsletters, are simply newsletters available
via email and/or online.

Subscribers sign up to receive a publication and may
unsubscribe at any time. Publications may be delivered
to your email daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly.

Discussion Groups

Discussion groups are groups of individuals who have signed
up to participate in group discussions. This type of group
delivers messages to your email each time a member posts.
When you reply to a message, it will be delivered to the
entire group.

Announcement Lists

Announcement lists enable members to sign up to receive
and post announcements in regard to a specific subject.
This type of group may deliver messages as they are
posted or you may receive a certain number of the
messages at one time.

Forums/Message Boards

Forums or message boards are online threaded discussion
groups in which messages are displayed on web pages.

Some forums require you to register in order to become a
member, while others require no registration.

Moderators

Most types of discussion groups, announcement lists and
forums will have one or more moderators. Moderators make
sure that posts are appropriate and try to prevent spammers
from posting.

Posting Guidelines

No matter what type of list or group you join, each will have
its own set of posting guidelines. Make sure you always
review the guidelines and double-check your post prior to
submission. Not only will your message get posted more
quickly, but it will also save the moderator a great deal of time.

When posting or replying to posts, make sure that you stay
on topic. If you're posting to a group that focuses on "Ezines,"
you wouldn't want to post a question or information about
"Gardening." In addition, always be very tactful. Everyone is
there to learn and share information. There is absolutely no
reason to hurt someone's feelings by publicly humiliating them
or being rude. Keep in mind, there is a human being with
feelings behind each post.

When posting to an announcement group, make sure you
follow the posting guidelines. Not only will this save the list
owner a great deal of time, but it will also prevent you from
having to repost your message when it gets rejected.

In addition to following the guidelines, make sure that you
don't post your message more than once. Announcement lists
receive many submissions and only send out a certain number
of posts each day. It may take up to a week or longer before
your message is approved. Reposting only serves to delay the
process even further.

Unsubscribing

In order to remove yourself or unsubscribe from an ezine,
discussion group or announcement list, you must follow the
instructions for each individual publication. Some lists will
provide a link that will instantly remove your email address.
Others will require you to send an email message to remove
yourself. However, you MUST send the unsubscribe email
message from the same address you used to subscribe.

Many times, subscribers may use an email address that
redirects to their main email account. When they try to
remove themselves from a list, they can't remember which
address they used to subscribe. This causes them to
become frustrated and take their anger out on the list owner.
There is no way for a list owner to determine what email
address a subscriber used to subscribe to the list. However,
there is a way you can locate the address yourself and save
yourself and the list owner a great deal of frustration.

If you're using Outlook:
Under the "View" menu, select "Message header" or "Source."

If you're using Eudora:
Click on the "Bla bla" button.

By viewing the message headers, you can determine what
email address the message was sent to. This is the email
address you used to subscribe to the group. Your unsubscribe
message MUST come from this address in order to remove it
from the database.

SPAM

Professional list owners will NEVER add your email address to
their database without your knowledge. Most of the time, if
you're receiving their publication, you subscribed and may
have forgotten. Keep in mind, the keyword is "Professional"
list owners. There are many list owners that use unethical
means of obtaining email addresses.

Before making a "SPAM" complaint, it is VERY important that
you understand the consequences. NEVER make a SPAM
complaint unless you are absolutely positive that it is in
fact, SPAM. It is much better to delete one hundred potential
SPAM messages than to wrongly accuse one innocent
publisher of SPAM. What you probably don't realize is that
when you make a SPAM complaint about a publication, your
complaint also affects advertisers and article writers that
have no affiliation with the publication. One SPAM complaint
can cost an innocent publisher, advertiser and writer their
entire business. It's just not worth it.

Advertising

Although many ezines will allow you to purchase advertising,
discussion groups, announcement lists and forums DO NOT
allow blatant advertising. This is considered SPAM and will
probably get you immediately removed. Most groups will allow
you to include your signature. Make sure you review the
guidelines prior to posting.

If we all work together and follow a few simple guidelines,
we can make the Internet a better place for us all.