LL-L: "Administrativa" LOWLANDS-L, 14.MAY.2001 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 14.MAY.2001 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
 User's Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
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 A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic, Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Administrativa

Dear Lowlanders,

We have had a few new subscribers in the last couple of weeks.  Because of
this, and because some not-so-new subscribers keep ignoring certain rules,
I once again need to post the rules of posting to the List.  Also, because
of the impending vacation (holiday) season in the Northern Hemisphere
(where the majority of our subscribers lives), I need to remind you of the
unsubscribing and subscribing procedures.  Please read them, and follow
them if needed.  (Would you believe that three former subscribers blocked
LL-L messages the day after I sent out a plea not to do so?  I am not sure
if this qualifies as "passive-aggressive or as plain "aggressive.")

Thanks.
Reinhard/Ron

(1) SUBSCRIBING/UNSUBSCRIBING

The Northern Hemisphere vacation (holiday) season will soon be upon us.
Traditionally, this is the time when several LL-L subscribers wonder what
to do about their subscriptions.  Since LL-L subscription is by application
only, our archive site
(http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html) does not have
the subscribe/unsubscribe options that also allow for setting vacation
mode.  Therefore we will have to use the "crude" method: you need to send
the message "signoff lowlands-l" to listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org, and
after your return you will need to write to me, giving me your name and
email address, and letting me know that you are a returning subscriber
(which means that you need not have to fill out the "form" again).  If you
have changed your address and have been forwarding your mail, the server
will not recognize your new address.  In that case you need to write to me
ask me to take you off, giving me your name and your old address (the one
under which you subscribed).  What several subscribers have been doing
instead of signing off is blocking the LL-L from their email accounts.
This is totally and utterly rude!  It results in me getting gezillions of
error messages and having to figure out who the person was in case they had
changed their address.  These people go straight onto my black list, and if
they ever decide to return to LL-L and apply (which has happened) ... well,
the word I'll use is most certainly not "welcome."

(2) POSTING RULES

The most frequent mistakes are these:

* Not giving the poster's full name
* Sending submissions with attachments
  (I will not open unknown/unexpected attachments, no matter
  from whom they are, and I most certainly will not pass them on to the
List.)
* Insufficient editing of quotes (See below)

PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THESE RULES:

(1) KEEP DISCUSSIONS RELEVANT.  Please remember that we deal with the
"Lowlands" area.  This is not synonymous with "Germanic" but excludes
German, Luxemburgish and the North Germanic languages (Scandinavian,
Icelandic and Faroese).  It is perfectly fine to mention these related
languages, and any other languages and their cultures for that matter,
especially wherever there are parallels or connections that are useful in
understanding topics that are within our main subject area.  However, the
focus must remain on the Lowlands languages and cultures.  It is all right
to sidestep within a discussion, as long as the discussion returns to the
original focus.  However, this should not be seen as an excuse to start a
new, extraneous subject line.

(2) KEEP SUBJECTS SEPARATE.  Do not submit a single posting in which more
than one topic is discussed.  ("Topic" equals "subject line".)  This also
applies when you respond to other people's postings.

(3) STICK TO THE SUBJECT TITLE.  If you start an entirely new discussion,
you are welcome to create your own subject title.  I may or may not adopt
that title.  (The more general the title is the better is the chance that
I'll adopt it; otherwise I'll generalize it.)  If you respond or add to
previous postings in an already existing subject line, please use the
already existing title of that discussion threat as your subject heading.
For instance, if the current title is "Language varieties" and you respond
to what someone wrote about vowels in Flemish dialects, don't choose
something like "Long o and u in the dialects of Southern Flanders and
speech habits of young Belgians" as your subject heading; stick to
"Language varieties," if you like it or not. This facilitates sorting
submissions at my end.  If I feel that the discussion has changed or a new
discussion has branched off an existing one, it is *my* job to give it a
new title.

(4) EDIT QUOTES.  When you reply to what someone else has written, don't
just hit the reply button and write your reply before or after the quoted
text. EDIT OUT WHATEVER IS NOT ESSENTIAL, most definitely the LL-L masthead
and footer.  (They are going to stay, for good reasons.)  Also, don't do
what some do: they follow this rule nicely until they run out of things to
say, and then they let the rest of the quoted text dangle behind their
"signature."

(5) GIVE CREDIT.  Don't forget to say who the writer of the text is to
which you are responding.  (When you hit the reply button your system most
likely credits me or "Lowlands-L," the sender, even if I did not write it.)

(6) IDENTIFY YOURSELF.  Anonymous postings are not permitted and will be
ignored.  Readers must be able to see who wrote a posting.  Many people
have automatic "signatures;" they are great, as long as they are not
attached. (No attachments allowed!)  Otherwise, your name must appear
either with your email address or at the end of your contribution.  It is
all right to have your surname appear in one place and your given name in
another place within the same posting.

(7) DO NOT SEND ATTACHMENTS.  Attachments (i.e., attached documents or
pictures), including signature attachments, are unacceptable.  The list
server strips most attachments off submissions and would probably remove
the rest during final distribution if I did not remove them already.
Anyway, sending attachments without prior approval from recipients is a big
no-no in "netiquette."  So, please put everything you wish to convey inside
your email submissions.

By all means, please feel free to submit postings to LL-L, even if you have
never done so before.  If you make a gross mistake, I'll tell you so
privately and will have you resubmit it correctly before anyone else sees
it -- which isn't the end of the world. If the mistake is not so bad, I'll
correct it once or twice in the hope that you will get the hint eventually.

If you have never posted but are considering getting into it, it's a good
idea to watch the "masters," the "old hands" or "veterans" on LL-L, namely
those subscribers who contribute frequently and have been around for a long
time (a handful of them since the very beginning in 1995!) Good luck, and
keep us posted!

Regards,
Reinhard "Ron" Hahn
Lowlands-L

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