$Id: guidelines.txt,v 1.20 2003/06/02 01:47:07 smith Exp $

xml-doc list guidelines
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These guidelines are sent as a Welcome message to new xml-doc
subscribers and once every four weeks to all current
subscribers. Please save these guidelines for later reference
and take a moment to review them now, including the PRIVACY
POLICY and NO-SPAM NOTICE at the end.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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0. TOPIC GUIDELINES
1. ACCESSING THE XML-DOC WEB SITE
2. POSTING AND REPLYING TO MESSAGES
3. READING MESSAGES VIA THE WEB AND ACCESSING THE MESSAGE ARCHIVE
4. UNSUBSCRIBING, RECEIVING DIGESTS, AND PUTTING MAIL ON HOLD
5. DEALING WITH E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS
6. RECEIVING FURTHER HELP

A. PRIVACY POLICY
B. NO-SPAM NOTICE
C. NOTE ON TOPIC DRIFT, TROLLS, AND FLAMES
D. CHANGELOG
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0. TOPIC GUIDELINES
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xml-doc is for discussion of XML/SGML and document authoring,
particularly authoring of documentation for computer software
and hardware. Topics for which list members have a specific
interest include:

* XML editing applications
* Single-sourcing for multiple audiences/delivery formats
* XML-based content management systems
* DocBook and other document-oriented markup vocabularies
* Converting legacy documents
* Organizational strategies for structured authoring
* Document analysis and markup model design/refinement
* Transitioning from older (e.g. FrameMaker) environments
* Publishing (transforming and delivering XML content)

Please also take a moment to read the NOTE ON TOPIC DRIFT,
TROLLS, AND FLAMES at the end of this message.

1. ACCESSING THE XML-DOC WEB SITE
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As a member of the xml-doc mailing list, you also have access
to the xml-doc Web site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xml-doc/

To use some features of the Web site, you also need to
choose a username and password and register with Yahoo Groups.

2. POSTING AND REPLYING TO MESSAGES
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To send a message to all the members of the mailing list,
e-mail it to:

xml-doc@yahoogroups.com

To post a message via the Web, visit:

http://groups.yahoo.com/post/xml-doc/

By default, when you reply to a message, the reply is sent to
all members of the list. If you want to reply just to the
author of a posted message, please specify only the author's
e-mail address in the "To:" field in your reply.

Here are a few general tips for posting and replying to
messages delivered to online mailing lists:

a. Use meaningful subject lines.

Try not to use generic, uninformative subject lines such as
"Easy question," "Help needed," "Urgent," and so on.
Instead, use meaningful subject lines that will quickly
make sense to the people whose help you are trying to get.

b. Quote only relevant parts of messages when replying.

When replying to a message, please don't quote the author's
entire message unless it's really necessary. Instead,
quote just the parts to which you are directly replying, or
quote only enough to establish a context for your reply.

c. Avoid idiomatic and colloquial English.

Be sensitive to the fact that a significant number of
subscribers to any English-language online mailing list are
non-native speakers of English. By avoiding idiomatic and
colloquial language, you ensure that your message will have
a higher degree of international readability.

Please also take a moment to read the NOTE ON TOPIC DRIFT,
TROLLS, AND FLAMES at the end of this message.

3. READING MESSAGES VIA THE WEB AND ACCESSING THE MESSAGE ARCHIVE
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All messages posted to the list are simultaneously posted to
xml-doc website and are immediately available at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/messages/xml-doc/

All messages are also automatically archived. To search
the archive, use the search box on the message page. To browse
the archive by month, visit the xml-doc main page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xml-doc/

4. UNSUBSCRIBING, RECEIVING DIGESTS, AND PUTTING MAIL ON HOLD
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You can unsubscribe at any time by e-mailing a message to

xml-doc-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To specify that you want to receive a digest of messages once
a day instead of receiving messages one at a time as they are
posted, send a blank e-mail message to:

xml-doc-digest@yahoogroups.com

To remain a list member, but receive no mail (for example, if
you plan to read messages by accessing the archive at the
xml-doc Web site or if you want to stop your xml-doc e-mail
while you are on a vacation), send a blank e-mail message to:

xml-doc-nomail@yahoogroups.com

To switch back from the "digest" or "no mail" settings to the
"normal" setting, send a blank e-mail message to:

xml-doc-normal@yahoogroups.com

You can also change your delivery settings from the xml-doc
Web site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/xml-doc/

5. DEALING WITH E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS
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Any files that members attach to a message are stripped out
before the message is distributed to the list; you cannot send
or receive attachments via the list.

If you have a file you would like to make available to the
other members of the list, upload it directly to the file
sharing area of the xml-doc Web site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/files/xml-doc/

All interested members can then access or download the file at
their convenience.

6. RECEIVING FURTHER HELP
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If you have questions about the list itself and need to have
them answered by a real person, send them to:

xml-doc-owner@yahoogroups.com

Regards,

Michael Smith
xml-doc moderator and list owner

..................................................................

A. PRIVACY POLICY
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The xml-doc list moderator has a complete list of e-mail
addresses for all xml-doc subscribers, but will not provide
any subscriber e-mail addresses or personal information to any
third party, at any time, for any purpose. Yahoo Groups itself
has a separate privacy policy:

http://privacy.yahoo.com/

Read their policy carefully and make sure it is acceptable to
you. If it's not, you should unsubscribe from the list.

B. NO-SPAM NOTICE
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Please don't post messages to xml-doc that are not related
directly to XML/SGML and document authoring. Specific types of
messages that are inappropriate on the list include:

* Product or service announcements that have an excessive
amount of unobjective marketing hype

* Any "for sale" announcements; for example, if you have used
computer equipment or software you're trying to re-sell, or a
domain name you want to unload, posting an announcement to
xml-doc is not an appropriate way to try to find a buyer

You should also read the the Yahoo Terms of Service document,
which contains information about their policy toward spam, along
with other things.

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

C. NOTE ON TOPIC DRIFT, TROLLS, AND FLAMES
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Before posting or replying to a message, please remember this
list's stated purpose -- as outlined in the TOPIC GUIDELINES --
and show consideration for the fact that there are subscribers on
the list from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, and
that many people aren't going to be nearly as interested as you
might be in any particular discussion that drifts away from the
topic guidelines, no matter how important/relevant you may
personally believe the particular topic drift to be.

[0] http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/T/topic-drift.html

xml-doc is a relatively low-noise list, and relatively free
from trolls[1] and flames[2] and flame bait[3].

[1] http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/T/troll.html
[2] http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/F/flame.html
[3] http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/F/flame-bait.html

To help keep the noise level down, don't fan the flames, and
avoid feeding the trolls if/when they appear (a much better
strategy is simply to ignore them).

D. CHANGELOG
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2003-06-02 <smith@...>

* updated jargon-file URLs

2003-05-02 <smith@...>

* formatting tweak

* changed vim foldlevel

* minor reformatting

* formatting, minor updates

* topic drift, etc. section updated

2002-10-04 <smith@...>

* added section about topic drift, trolls, and flames (in another place)

* added section about topic drift, trolls, and flames

2002-07-02 <smith@...>

* changed 'DocBook and other DTDs' to 'DocBook and other markup
vocabularies'

* changed 'DTD creation' to 'markup model design'

2002-04-24 <smith@...>

* minor tweaks

* removed spam warnings

* expanded tabs

* added more no-spam warnings

* no-spam.txt: New file.

2002-04-03 <smith@...>

* fixed minor typo

2002-01-02 <smith@...>

* branches: 1.1.1; Initial revision

* added Id keyword

* New file.

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