© E. C. Willock 1996
|
© E. C. Willock 1996 |
Frequently Asked Questions |
Prepared by Geoffrey Brent [g.brent dot student.unsw.edu.au]
Version 2.14, last updated April 2nd 2002. Posted monthly,
with any luck.
Changes from previous version: added a link on the virtues
of plaintext, rewrote relevant bit.
Welcome to the post-grad list! This FAQ ('Frequently
Asked Questions' document) was written to explain the
basics of reading and posting to the list, and to
answer the most commonly-asked questions.
The FAQ includes instructions for adding yourself and
removing yourself from the list, a quick run-down of
what sort of material is and isn't appropriate for the
list, and some other sites & lists of interest. Please
take the time to read the FAQ before posting to the
list - this is the important part, and if you post to
the list it'll be assumed that you've read and agreed
to this.
The Appendix explains _why_ the rules on posting are
the way they are. If you think the list-admin is just
a big old meanie who makes up these rules to stop
people having fun, you should read this bit too :-)
Otherwise, it's probably not necessary.
FAQ Contents:
1. How do I join or leave this list?
2. How do I post to this list?
3. What sort of posts belong on this list?
4. Tags & Subject headers
5. Who runs this list?
6. Other lists & websites of interest
FAQ Appendix
1. How do I join or leave this list?
To join, send email to majordomo dot explode.unsw.edu.au
with the command
subscribe post-grad
in the body of your message. If your request is
successful, you will receive a confirmation
message from majordomo (please allow a little
time for your request to be processed.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: if you try to post to the list
and the address in your 'From' header isn't
the same as the one you used to subscribe, the
list server will _not_ recognise you as a
legitimate member of the list, even if both
addresses belong to the same account. (The server
has no way of knowing whether 'z1234567 dot student.
unsw.edu.au' and 'joe.bloggs dot unsw.edu.au' are the
same person.) If this happens, your message will
not get through to the list.
To unsubscribe, send the command
unsubscribe post-grad
to the same address, majordomo dot explode.unsw.edu.au
Do _not_ send unsubscribe requests to the mailing
list address itself.
2. How do I post to this list?
Simply send email to post-grad dot explode.unsw.edu.au.
Messages will usually appear on the list within a
few minutes, but occasionally they get held up for
an hour or two when the system is busy.
The list server attempts to identify subscription/
unsubscription requests that have been sent to the
list itself by mistake, and blocks these from the
list. Try to avoid using the words "subscribe" or
"unsubscribe" in the first few lines of your message,
or your message will probably bounce. Avoid using the
word "help" in your subject line, for the same reason.
Before posting to the list (or indeed sending anything
else from your UNSW email account) you should make
sure you are familiar with basic email etiquette and
UNSW's rules on use of email facilities. Some links to
relevant information are provided in part 6 of this
document.
In particular, you are responsible for ensuring that
your messages do not violate UNSW email policy or
applicable laws.
3. What sort of posts belong on this list?
GOOD:
Post-grad news, event announcements, discussion of
pg issues, and other material likely to be of interest
to fellow UNSW post-grads
Messages with informative Subject headers (see Appendix)
'Plain text' format
IN MODERATION (see Appendix):
Advertising (for sale/rent)
Jokes
Off-topic discussions
BAD (please don't post these):
Virus warnings
Anything not in plain text format. (Includes HTML, MIME,
Word document attachments, pictures, PDFs, .exes, etc...)
Material that is abusive, or likely to cause offence
Messages with useless/no Subject headers
Excessive quoting of other people's posts
Urban myths & chain letters, unless clearly flagged as
such in header line.
While enthusiastic discussion is a normal and healthy
part of this list, please remember to be courteous
and friendly to other list members. A well-mannered,
calmly presented opinion is the best way to convince
people of your point of view.
Please also be aware that posters who repeatedly and/or
wilfully misuse the list may be removed from it, at the
list-admin's discretion. In extreme cases abuse may be
reported to UNSW administration for disciplinary action.
You should also be aware that some things (e.g. offensive
material or abusive email messages) may be unlawful or
illegal and can also lead to outside action being taken
against the university and individual offenders. It is
*your* responsibility to make sure that what you send to
the list is appropriate.
4. Tags and Subject headers
Whenever you send an email message, you should
make sure the Subject header gives the reader
some idea of what the message is about. This
makes it easier for them to sort through their
mail.
If you're posting jokes, advertising, potentially
contentious material, or chain letters, please
identify these things clearly in the Subject header
so those who don't want to read such material can
skip them. Example: "Golf Balls [political joke]" or
"Table For Sale".
A great many 'urban myths' are doing the rounds on the
Internet, and these can also annoy people who don't
like seeing misinformation circulating under the guise
of truth. There is an excellent searchable Urban Legends
website at http://www.snopes2.com/ and before forwarding
suspicious-looking stories to the post-grad list you
should take the time to check them on the Snopes site -
forwarding something to the list that turns out to be
untrue is a waste of other people's time and no doubt
embarrassing to yourself. If you _know_ something you're
forwarding is a myth, please use the tag [myth] in your
message header so you don't mislead other list members.
5. Who runs this list?
As of March 2002 it's Geoffrey Brent (me).
You can reach the current list-admin by sending
email to owner-post-grad dot explode.unsw.edu.au. Comments
and suggestions on the list are welcome, but please
read the Appendix before suggesting changes to list
policy.
6. Other lists and websites of interest
pg-debate: a forum for discussions which are too
lengthy and/or off-topic for the post-grad list.
Discussions that start on post-grad may sometimes
be moved to pg-debate. In general, the material in
the post-grad list FAQ is also applicable to the
pg-debate list.
virus-info: used by UNSW to issue virus alerts,
notification of updates to anti-virus software etc.
If you want to be kept up to date on genuine virus
threats, this is a good list to join.
pg-announce: a list for announcements (not discussion)
relevant to post-grad students at UNSW.
To join/leave any of these lists, use the same
commands as given for the post-grad lists and
simply substitute the name of the list you want to
join.
This FAQ & Appendix, on Charles Willock's postgrad webpage:
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~charlesw/faq.html
UNSW Post-Graduate Board website:
http://www.postgrad.unsw.edu.au
UNSW rules on use of email accounts:
http://www.infonet.unsw.edu.au/poldoc/email.htm
UNSW rules on student use of computing facilities:
http://www.infonet.unsw.edu.au/poldoc/rulcomp.htm
UNSW main website:
http://www.unsw.edu.au/
UNSW Information Services website:
http://www.disconnect.unsw.edu.au/
Internet Etiquette FAQs (a good guide to
courtesy & communicating on the Net):
http://oingo.com/topic/9/9675.html
San Fernando Valley Urban Folklore Society webpage
(urban myths again):
http://www.snopes2.com
FAQ Appendix
1. Why some posts aren't welcome on the list (and
how you can get around this).
2. Is this list censored?
3. Things the list-admin does and doesn't do.
1. Why some posts aren't welcome on the list (and
how you can get around this).
This list exists primarily to provide information
of interest to UNSW's post-grad students. Other
material is OK, as long as it doesn't interfere
with that goal; the "In Moderation" and "Bad" lists
are a result of that principle.
Occasional "off-topic" material on the list is not
an issue. The problem arises when there's so much
off-topic material on the list that people have
difficulty using it for its intended purpose. If
they have to delete half a dozen "for sale" notices
every day just to get to the post-grad stuff, the
people who didn't join the list for the advertising
are likely to leave it, and that stops the list from
doing its job. Ditto jokes, ditto arguments about the
nature of God or last week's golf tournament or
whatever. All these things are OK in moderation, just
not in excess.
When posting to this list, keep in mind that it covers
almost five hundred readers from a wide variety of
backgrounds, and their standards of 'offence' may
differ greatly from yours. This is particularly true
when it comes to telling jokes; think about the content
of your message and its audience before sending it.
Using the subject line to give people an idea of content
is always a good idea and goes a long way to avoid
unintentionally offending people, by allowing them to
identify and skip material they might consider distasteful.
This saves everybody a lot of trouble. But remember that
some material, even if only in the form of a joke, can be
unlawful and should not be sent, even if you have clearly
marked it in the Subject line.
Remember the 'Robustness Principle': "be sparing in what
you send, but generous in what you accept."
"For sale/rent" posts are acceptable in small doses
_if_ what's being advertised is of relevance to post-
grad students (accommodation near UNSW, second-hand
textbooks etc.) The limit on these is one post, per
person, per month, list members only, sending from
subscribed addresses. If you send such an ad from an
address that isn't on the list it will probably vanish
into oblivion, never to be seen again. Some other ads
_will_ be forwarded to the list, at the list-owner's
discretion - for instance, event announcements, if they
look relevant. But in general, it is not considered good
manners to post to a list of which you're not a member.
Plain text. Some email programs and service providers
encourage you to send email in HTML or MIME format, or
as a file attachment attachment (.doc files, PDF,
images etc.) Please do not do this. These file formats
are NOT compatible with all email systems, they cause
unnecessary wastage of resources, and they present a
virus risk. More information on how and why to set your
mailer to plain text can be found at
http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
If you have something in attachment form and you want
to share it with your fellow post-grads, you have a
couple of options.
If it's a document of some sort, you can copy-and-
paste the text into a plain message. You'll lose some
formatting, but you'll have a smaller message that
everybody can read.
If you can't do this, or don't want to do this, your
best bet is to make your file available from a
website (if you don't have one, there are several
free providers out there.) Then post to the list,
letting people know what the file is and where to
get it:
"I've got a cool picture of the Vice-Chancellor
at http://www.mypage.com/~freddy/vice.jpg!"
Under no circumstances should you post image or
program files to the list. The list software will
automatically block such messages.
Most of the 'virus warnings' doing the rounds on
email are nothing more than hoaxes. UNSW's
clearing-house for virus warnings & information
is the ACSU; if you want to stay informed about
viruses, subscribe to their virus-info list
(details in the FAQ.) If you have received a
virus warning by email and you're not sure
whether it's genuine, check the following lists
of hoax virus warnings:
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/scares/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
To avoid the embarrassment of falling for a
practical joke, check these lists _before_ you
forward a warning to anybody else. Please do
not post 'virus warnings' to the post-grad list
unless you've cleared this with the list-admin
first.
Excessive quoting of other people's messages is
a nuisance to some list members because it makes
your messages longer than they need to be. If
you're replying to a message that appeared on
the post-grad list, your audience have already
_read_ that message - if they want to see the
previous message again, they can look at it for
themselves. Your response should only quote as much
material as is necessary to put your own reply into
context. Quoting a long message in its entirety just
to add a "Me too!" is considered bad manners.
Abusive material: this should be self-explanatory.
Remember that sending abusive messages is a
violation of UNSW computer usage policy, and can
result in disciplinary action and/or cancellation of
your account.
2. Is this list censored?
No. If you post a message to the list, and your
'From' header matches the one you used to join the
list, your message will usually go straight to the
list without any human intervention or scrutiny.
Usually within minutes, but sometimes the server
will delay it for up to 24 hours.
If for some reason your message bounces (e.g. the
'from' header is wrong, or majordomo mistakes it
for an admin request) it will end up in my mailbox
and I'll deal with it when I can. This may involve
forwarding it to the list, or explaining to you
why I can't forward it, but you will almost always
get some sort of acknowledgement.
The main exception to this is bounced "for sale/rent"
posts, which will be deleted without acknowledgement.
Sorry, but too many people have been treating this
list as a free advertising service, which is not its
purpose. If you are a genuine member of the list you
are welcome to post one such ad per month (on someone
else's behalf, if you like) but it is your responsibility
to make sure your ad doesn't bounce. I will occasionally
make exceptions for people with a _really_ good excuse.
The list-admin is _not_ responsible for 'vetting'
messages to ensure appropriate content, either before
or after they are sent to the list. As post-grad
students, you are old enough to take responsibility
for the use you make of this forum, and for making sure
your use is acceptable under UNSW rules & federal/state
law.
3. Things the list-admin does and doesn't do.
I try to keep this list useful and interesting to
post-grads, and I try to make sure that the list
policy reflects the wishes of its users. If you
have ideas on how the list could be run better,
I'd like to hear from you - my email address is
listed above. On a list with nearly 500 members
it's impossible to please everybody at once, but
I'll do what I can.
If you're having trouble getting on or off the list,
I'm happy to help you. But please try figuring out
the automatic commands explained in the FAQ first.
If you can do this, it saves me a lot of work :-)
Sent through the UNSW post-grad mailing list.
Instructions for removing yourself from this
list are available in the FAQ document at
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~charlesw/faq.html
(also posted to this list monthly.)
PG board website: http://www.postgrad.unsw.edu.au
List-admin contact: owner-post-grad dot explode.unsw.edu.au