I have unsuccessfully tried to quit a
forum, how can I get off the list?
I'm new to mailing lists what is the meaning of some of the terminology?
What is good and bad forum etiquette?
Will I get spam if I join a discussion group?
How much mail will I get?
Can I get mail digests?
I prefer newsgroups, can I use a newsgroup reader?
Can I read forum mail without joining?
Can I stop my forum mail without quitting?
What is double opt-In and double opt-out?
Why do I get a message
that says I'm not subscribed when I try to quit a forum?
Why do I get a message that says I'm not subscribed when I try to post a
message?
Why don't I get any mail after joining a discussion group?
Why have I have stopped receiving forum mail?
How can I find out which email account I used to join a forum
How can I quit a discussion group if I've already deleted my email
account?
How do I stop getting forum mail?
Are the forums moderated?
Why was my forum membership canceled without my knowledge?
Will I get a copy of my own mail when I post to a
forum?
I have unsuccessfully
tried to quit a forum, how can I get off the list? [Return to
Top]
If you have unsuccessfully tried to
quit using both the web method and the email
method, then contact the Forum Administrator and let them know the
name of the forum and the email address that you wish to un-subscribe.
I'm new to mailing
lists, what is the meaning of some of the terminology? [Return to
Top]
There are a number of terms and acronyms that are
commonly used with regards to forums. Here is a partial list.
- digest : A compilation of all the posts for the day for a given
forum. When you join a forum, you will automatically receive an email
each time a member posts to the forum, but you may change your member
options so that you will instead receive a single digest at the end of
each day.
- double opt-in : A method of joining a forum that requires a
confirmation reply from the email account that is requesting to join a
forum. This method prevents accidental or malicious subscribing of
someone else's email address. Double opt-in ensures that no one is
subscribed to a forum unless they really want to be. It also ensures
that they are able to receive messages from the forum list server.
- double opt-out : Similar to "double opt-out" except
that it pertains to quitting a forum.
- flame : A negative comment about someone.
- forum : Short for discussion forum which is a type of mailing
list that allows members to submit messages and carry out discussion.
- list server : The software and/or computer that manages and
runs mailing lists.
- lurker : A member that does not post. Most members are lurkers.
This is okay, but if everyone lurks, the forum will die from lack of
posts. We have all learned something valuable (sometimes saving us
thousands of dollars or many hours of work), so we encourage everyone to
give a little back by occasionally participating.
- member : A person that has subscribed to a forum.
- moderation : The holding of a message for review and approval
by a moderator before it is allowed it to post to a forum.
- off-topic : A post that does not conform to the designated
topic for a forum. Off topic posting is not permited.
- post : An email that is sent to the members of a discussion
forum.
- spam : Unsolicited commercial email.
- subscribe : The process of joining a forum.
- thread : A series of emails that have the same subject line.
- un-subscribe : The process of quitting a forum.
What is good and bad
forum etiquette? [Return to Top]
Manors are important in any social group (yes the
forums are a social group). They are the lubricant that prevents friction
and keeps everyone happy. Here is a partial list of things that will make
your (and everyone's) forum experience more enjoyable.
- If you go on vacation, don't set your email account
to auto-respond unless you first quit the forum or set your forum member
options to suspend. Failure to do so will result in the wrath of
forum members and a cancellation of your membership.
- Don't post test messages to any forum.
- Don't speak negatively of any person.
- Change the subject line if the topic of your reply
to a post no longer longer conforms to the original subject line. It is
also good practice to add the original subject as a suffix to the new
subject. For example: "New Subject (was: original subject)".
- Quote the message that you are replying to, but
don't over quote. For instance, if you are the 15th member to reply to a
post, quote just the post/s (or sections) that you are replying to, not
all 15 posts!
- Don't waste bandwidth and members time by posting
needless messages, such as those that say nothing more than "me
to" or "I agree". If you are going to submit a post, make
it useful.
- Lurking is okay, but participating is much better.
Will I get spam if I join a discussion group?
[Return to Top]
No, you will not receive SPAM simply by joining a
forum. Membership lists are kept private. We do everything we can to
prevent spam. Membership lists may be assessable to third parties that are
involved in hosting or managing these forums but member lists are never
offered for other reasons.
You may receive spam if you post to a forum. This is
because your email address appears in the "From:" header when
you post a message, and anyone that reads your email can then copy your
email address. Although it is against rules, some individuals or company
with join lists or scan archives in order to harvest the email address of
those that post messages. If persons or
companies are found to be harvesting from our forums, they are are
permanently banned.
There are methods that you can use to post messages
that will prevent harvesting of your email address. Here are a few
methods:
- Join a forum but don't post messages from your
membership account. Instead, post using the Post to
a Forum web page.
- Join a forum but don't post messages from this
membership account, it should only be used for reading. Setup a second
membership to be used for posting. It should use a
"throw-away" email address that you can discontinue if you
start getting spamed. Set the member options for the second membership
to "suspend" to disable incoming email. Post only from the
second account. You can either ignore all mail comming into the second
email account or filter it directly into the trash. If you begin getting
too much spam, just unsubscribe the second email and re-subscribe
- Join
How much mail will I
get? [Return to
Top]
It varies from day to day. On some of the busier
days in the past, there have been in excess of 70 postings in a single
day. Most days have far less or even none. If you find that the volume is
too great, you might consider changing your membership
options to enable digest mode. This will send a single compilation to
you each day. You might also consider just browsing the on-line archives.
Can
I get mail digests? [Return to Top]
Yes, just change your member
options to turn on the digest mode.
I
prefer newsgroups, can I use a newsgroup reader? [Return to
Top]
No. The forums only support email. You can browse
the on-line archives and post
via the website if you don't want to join and receive emails.
Can
I read forum mail without joining? [Return to Top]
Yes, just visit the on-line
archives.
Can
I stop my forum mail without quitting? [Return to Top]
Yes, just turn on the suspend mode in your member
options.
What is double
opt-In and double opt-out? [Return to Top]
See forum terminology.
Why
do I get a message that says I'm not subscribed when I try to quit a forum? [Return to
Top]
One (or more) of the following situations will cause
the message.
- Of course there is the obvious, you may not be
subscribed. If you are continually receiving posts from a forum, it's
possible that they are being forwarded from another email account or an
alias.
- You may be trying to un-subscribe the wrong email
address.
- You may be emailing an un-subscribe request from
the wrong email account
- You may have modified your email account setup
after joining.
You can verify the email account you used to join a
forum by looking at the "extended header of any post you received from the forum. The member
email address will be shown between the two # signs.
To successfully confirm your un-subscribe request
(double opt-out procedure) your email accounts "From" and
"Reply-To" setting must both indicate the address that you are
trying to un-subscribe.
Why do I get a message that says I'm not subscribed when I try to post
a message? [Return to Top]
Only members may post to a forum (unless you use the
web page).
Assuming that you have already successfully joined
the forum and you still get this message, the reason is probably due to
the setup of your email account. Both the "From" and
"Reply-To" email addresses on your email client must indicate
the same email address that you used to subscribe. This requirement if for
spam prevention.
Why don't I get any mail after joining a discussion group?
[Return to Top]
Some of the forums have almost no activity. You can
verify whether or not you are actually missing mail by visiting the on-line
archive.
Missing mail usually occurs when spam blocking
techniques are implemented on the members email server or email client.
The list server uses numerous STMP servers for mail delivery. This can
explain why you were able to join, but later stopped receiving (or never
received any) posts. When this happens, it is almost always because some
but not all our SMTP servers are blocked by the spam prevention measures.
To resolve this problem you will need to contact the
administrator of your mail server and/or reconfigure your spam filtering
software.
Why have I have stopped receiving forum mail?
[Return to Top]
There are many possible reasons.
- There may be a natural ebb in conversation
resulting in one or more days without posts to the forum.
- Your forum Member Options
may have been set to suspend your mail.
- Your email provider may have recently implemented
spam blocking measures that block email from the forums. This is very
common. You will need to contact your ISP or mail server administrator
to resolve this.
- Your own spam filters or program may be deleting
your forum mail before you have a chance to see it.
- Your email account or server may not be functioning
correctly thus preventing delivery. You can verify your ability to
receive mail from us by using the echo feature on the Server
Status page
- Your membership may have been canceled for one of
many reasons; mail may have been undeliverable, your email account may
have been auto-responding, you may have spamed the forum, etc. You can
check your membership status by visiting the Member
Status page.
- There may be a problem with the delivery
infrastructure which may include, a problem with an Internet backbone,
our ISP, or our servers. You can verify whether
or not the systems are working by visiting the Server
Status page.
How can I find out which email account I used to join a forum? [Return to
Top]
You can find out which email account you used to
join a forum by looking at the "extended header of any post you received from the forum. The member
email address will be shown between the two # signs.
How can I quit a discussion group if I've
already deleted my email account? [Return to Top]
To quit, your membership's email account must be
functional so that you can complete the double opt-out procedure. Double
out-out is required to prevent accidental or malicious un-subscribing of
someone else's membership.
If you've already deleted your email account, you
will need to temporarily re-activate it in order to un-subscribe the
address. Contact the Forum Administrator If this is not possible.
How do I stop getting forum mail?
[Return to Top]
You can either temporarily suspend
incoming mail or you can quit the forum.
Are
the forums moderated? [Return to Top]
Usually no, but there are exceptions.
- Messages posted using the web page are always
moderated. This is necessary to prevent spam.
- times when submitted posts may be held for
moderation.
- Discussion threads that become off topic (does not
conform the guidelines and rules) are moderated until the thread is back
on topic.
- Messages that contain certain keywords are
automatically flagged for moderation by the list server. This prevents
spam and well as accidental posting of forum command sequences.
- Individual member accounts are set to permanent
moderation if after a warning they repeatedly post off topic messages.
Why was my forum membership canceled without my knowledge?
Return to Top
Memberships are rarely canceled without
notification. The following are reasons this might happen.
- Mail to your membership account was auto-responding
to forum posts.
- Mail to your membership email address was
undeliverable.
- You spamed the forum.
- You blatantly disregarded Forum Administrator
instructions and forum rules
Will
I get a copy of my own mail when I post to a forum? [Return to
Top]
Yes, unless you change your member
options to disable this feature.
|