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(meteorobs) LIST ETIQUETTE FOR 'meteorobs' (please read)



This is a message we send out periodically, just to let
newcomers know (and to remind long-time readers) of the
rules we all choose to live by in our 'meteorobs' forum.

I thought it might be worth reposting at the New Year. I
hope it is helpful to all. Any questions or suggestions,
please DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY to this, but don't hesitate
to email the administrators at:

    owner-meteorobs@meteorobs.org


Warm sleeping bags to Northern observers, cool nights to
Southern observers, comfortable nights to Equatorial Belt
observers, and clear skies to all!

Lew Gramer <owner-meteorobs@meteorobs.org>
Webmaster: http://www.meteorobs.org





-----Original Message-----

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POSTING GUIDELINES FOR 'meteorobs' ("Netiquette"):

[This list was first posted in December 2000: the rules here are
ones we have followed on 'meteorobs' since we started in 1996...]


In response to some private suggestions from readers, I thought I
should mention a couple of quick "netiquette" rules which we try
to maintain for our list, so that everyone enjoys participating.

Here they are! Comments are welcome, but PRIVATELY (to our "List
Elf" address of owner-meteorobs@atmob.org). Those wishing me to
forward or summarize their comments to the list at large, please
just state that wish in your private comments email to me...

In summary:
1) During busy times, stay on topic: METEORS!
2) During quiet times - NOT the Leonid peak! - secondary topics
   (meteorites, comets, mosquitoes, sleeping bags, ...) are OK.
3) Be decent to others
4) Limit quoting in your replies
5) Please do NOT post in HTML format
6) Have fun, and ask questions!

In detail:

1) During busy times of the year, such as the peak weeks of the
Leonids, Geminids, Perseids, etc. please REMAIN ON TOPIC! If
you have any doubts about what is on topic, a message which I
sent out last August [August 2000] should be helpful:

    http://www.meteorobs.org/maillist/msg22686.html
    [This post is reproduced in whole, below...]

2) During quieter times of the year, feel free to "go out on a
limb" and discuss less meteor-specific topics. But PLEASE keep
these to a reasonable (low) volume of posts, and as near our
area of mutual interest as you can. (This is hard sometimes.)

[NOTE: The month of the 2002 Leonid storms (we hope) is NOT a
"Quieter time of the year"! So please stay very on topic with
your posts to 'meteorobs' over this next month or so...]


3) Do NOT use derogatory or inflammatory language on our list.
We are a diverse community, of individuals from ALL age groups,
nations, and cultures, and such posts cannot be tolerated. You
will be removed, and very possibly banned for good.


4) When you REPLY TO ANOTHER POST, please *do not* include the
entire text of that previous post! Try to limit your "quoting"
to only the paragraph, sentence, or even just the *phrase* in
the original post to which you are specifically replying.

This last act of common courtesy is particularly important to
our *200* digest users, who must wade through all posts, line
by line - and have no desire to read the same message 4 or 5
times, because it was quoted over and over again in replies.


5) Whenever possible, do NOT send HTML to our list. Basically,
if your email looks pretty to you - lots of nice color, fonts,
etc. - it will also look pretty to about 1/4 of the people who
read it on 'meteorobs'... But to the other 3/4 of your readers,
your message will just look like incomprehensible gibberish!

And for our many subscribers in places around the globe where
Internet connections are slow, like Irkutsk, New Caledonia, or
even more exotic spots, the extra size of your HTML can really
interfere with their use of 'meteorobs'... Please don't do it.

If you need help to figure out how to tell your email program
NOT to send HTML messages, just email us "Elves" privately at:
    owner-meteorobs@atmob.org
We'll help you do this in Yahoo, Hotmail, Eudora, Outlook, etc.


6) That's all there is to it! Otherwise our most important rules
are simply: (A) HAVE FUN and (B) Do not ever be afraid to ask a
meteor-related question at any "level"! That's why we're here. :)


Clear skies to all!

Lew Gramer (GRALE), IMO, NAMN
owner-meteorobs@atmob.org


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What is 'meteorobs' here for?
[From the URL noted above:
http://www.meteorobs.org/maillist/msg22686.html ]

We are a broad and diverse community, everyone... I try to stress
that fact in every public posting which I make on 'meteorobs'.

Included in this diversity are both "newbies", and observers who have
been at
this "meteor thing" for 40 years, and professional (or amateur!)
scientists
whose main interest is meteoroid stream prediction, meteor physics, and
such.


I think that having ONE community where all such viewpoints are
represented
can be very powerful! It means that the newcomer can learn very rapidly
and
reliably (if they wish) about many different nuances of the given topic.
And
what's more (and this can be overlooked), it causes the seasoned "Old
Salts"
to occasionally re-examine their own knowledge and experience, based on
the
input of fresh ideas! This is the essence of what we want 'meteorobs' to
be.

One common problem with such open forums, of course, is sheer VOLUME! So
to
prevent that volume from becoming a burden to all our readers, we *DO*
keep
the discussions on our list focused in one VERY NARROW AREA... In this
way,
ALL of us can participate and benefit - no matter what our experience
level.



So to reiterate and clarify what is stated in the introductory message
to
every new subscriber (and on our Website!), here are some things that
ARE,
MAY BE, and ARE NOT considered to be "on topic" for 'meteorobs':

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ON-TOPIC:

1) Meteor Observing FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES by amateurs and
professionals.
   (This includes visual, video, radio, telescopic, photographic, etc.)
2) The science of meteors, meteor showers/meteoroid streams, and comets.
   (This includes discussion by both professionals and "amateurs", since
    the topic of meteor science clearly spans both communities!)
3) Publication or announcement of *results* from either (1) or (2)
above.

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"SORT OF" ON-TOPIC - i.e., "WELCOME ANY TIME THE LIST IS QUIET":
(These topics are occasionally proscribed if traffic gets heavy: after
all, we don't want a global announcement that a meteor storm is now in
progress to be drowned out by posts about the best sleeping bag to use!)

1) Anything *specifically* related to the challenges meteor observers
may
   face - including cold-weather observing, mosquitoes, circadian
rhythms,
   human vision, image intensifiers, "SporadicE" interference, etc,
etc...
2) Meteor observing FOR AESTHETIC PURPOSES - this includes both casual
   major-shower watching for fun, and photography and video, etc.
3) Important announcements and discussion about comets and asteroids
(after
   all, these are where meteors come from!), and about meteorites.
4) Almost ANY related topic, so long as it is *properly limited*, and it
   is carried on in a respectful and friendly manner by all
participants.

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*NOT* ON-TOPIC:

1) ANYTHING derogatory, disrespectful, hurtful, personally oriented,
   with commercial intent, or meant for only one or a few recipients.
2) Advertisement or general "product recomendations" (unless related
   to the "sort of" topics numbered (1) or (2) above!) Also included
   in this restriction is commercial meteorite dealing, for example.
   NOT included in this restriction, for example, would be *limited*
   discussion about products to reduce mosquitos. (OUCH, they hurt!)
3) General astronomical observing - although don't forget that meteor
   observing *IS* perhaps the best introduction to astronomy for new-
   comers, and so we *DO* specifically encourage a certain number of
   "Help me find my way around the night sky?" queries on this list!
4) General astronomy science discussion - there are a whole host of
   other email fora and Web sites out there for this kind of topic.
5) Conspiracy theories, "alternative" science (UNLESS it is specific
   to the discussion of meteor science, that is!), or UFOs.
6) *Extended discussions* about what is and is not "on topic"!! :)

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Thanks everyone, and clear skies to all!
Lew Gramer <owner-meteorobs@meteorobs.org>

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