LL-L "Administrativia" 2002.12.27 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 27.DEC.2002 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 http://www.lowlands-l.net * admin at lowlands-l.net * Encoding: Unicode UTF-8
 Rules & Guidelines: http://www.lowlands-l.net/rules.htm
 Posting Address: lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org
 Server Manual: http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html
 Archive: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html
=======================================================================
 You have received this because you have been subscribed upon request.
 To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l" as message
 text from the same account to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or
 sign off at <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
                  V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
=======================================================================


From: R. F. Hahn <admin at lowlands-l.net>
Subject: Administrativia

Dear Lowlanders,

I hope that all of you who have celebrated them had wonderful holidays and
will continue to enjoy special days as we approach the threashold to the
year 2003. Our friends who follow Eastern Orthodox traditions still have the
main part of their holiday season in front of them, with Christmas on
January 7 and traditional New Year on January 14. I wish everyone a
wonderful time on behalf of the entire List, as Lowlands-L begins the last
quarter of its eighth year.

Since my last administrative message ten days ago we have been joined by a
number of people from all over the world. You will find a list of their
places at the bottom of this message. I am always pleased to be able to
welcome people from "new" places and from countries or regions that so far
had been represented scarcely (this time for instance Meurthe et Moselle in
France, Usanlo-Bilbao in the Basque Country, Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria, Tyumen
in Siberia, and Chennai in India's Tamilnadu). A special welcome to them!

And now to some business.

Some of you still show in their posting submissions that they are not or
only insufficiently familiar with our rules and guidelines. The rules and
guidelines are available in English, Dutch, Limburgish, Lowlands Saxon (Low
German) and Russian at http://www.lowlands-l.net/rules.htm. Please
familiarize yourselves with them.

Among the most persistent mistakes are these:

o  not staying with a subject line (i.e., making up one's own topic title in
    responses),

o  combining two or more subjects in one response,

o  responding without saying what one is responding to and whose questions
    one is answering (forgetting that I will erase everything below your
    signatures unless it is properly edited),

o  not "signing" one's postings (i.e., forgetting to give ones name, which I
    will add in square brackets ([ ]) a few times before beginning to ignore
    that person's submissions).

There is a new one that has not yet made its way into the list of
guidelines: writing everything in capital letters. Please remember that this
is unacceptable, not only on this list but on the Internet in general (apart
from being difficult to read, it is perceived as lazy and/or as "yelling,"
since all-caps is used only for highly dramatic emphasis in chatrooms).

The other day I "quietly" ended a Spanish-language chat with a Spanish
reminder and promised to bring it up in my next administrative message. No,
the use of Spanish is not the issue. In fact, you are free to use any
language you wish, though Lowlands languages are preferable. The issue is
that this is a list for eliciting and exchanging information, that it ought
not be used as a chatroom. You are encouraged to submit postings to ask and
answer questions and to share Lowlands-related information with everyone.
You are not encouraged to submit postings that amount to nothing more than
exchanges of social pleasantries, namely exchanges that qualify as "private
correspondence." Before writing a posting submission, please ask yourselves
this basic question:

"Is it relevant to the List?"

("List" = around 400 people all over the world)

Of course it is proper to thank someone for what they have posted, but if
all you want to say is "Thank you" you ought to write the person a private
note. If you have things to say in addition and feel that the entire List
would benefit from it, then by all means submit it as a posting.

No, we do not have to be all serious and stiff all the time, and our
generally friendly and familial atmosphere lends itself to occasional
jesting. Levity is fine, as long as you avoid put-down jokes and ask
yourselves if your jokes will be understood by most readers  as intended and
are not likely to be construed as offensive or as underhandedly aggressive.
Submitting postings *only* for jocular bantering is not all right, also
falls into the category of "private correspondence."

Friendly regards and thanks for your cooperation,

Reinhard/Ron
__________
Reinhard "Ron" F. Hahn
Administrator, Lowlands-L
http://www.lowlands-l.net

***

New Subscribers December 18-27, 2002:
     Bulgaria:
        Sofia:
           Blagoevgrad [1]
     Canada:
        British Columbia:
           Victoria [1]
        Manitoba:
           Winnipeg [1]
        Ontario:
           Ottawa [1]
     France:
        Meurthe et Moselle:
           Mazires [1]
     Germany:
        North-Rhine-Westphalia:
           Rheine [1]
        ? [1]
     India:
        Delhi:
           Delhi [1]
        Tamilnadu:
           Chennai [1]
     Mexico:
        Mexico City:
           Mexico City [1]
     Netherlands:
        South Holland:
           Leiden [1]
     Russian Federation:
        Siberia:
           Tyumen:
              Tyumen [1]
     Spain:
        Biskaia/Biscaya (Basque Country):
           Usanlo-Bilbao
     United Kingdom:
        England:
           Devon:
              Crediton [1]
           Leicestershire:
              Loughborough [1]
     United States of America:
        Indiana:
           Fillmore [1]
        Kentucky:
           Paducah [1]
        Maryland:
           Baltimore [1]
        Missouri:
           Warrensburg [1]
        North Carolina:
           Salisbury [1]
        Oregon:
           Durham [1]

==================================END===================================
* Please submit postings to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
* Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
* Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
* Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
  to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
  <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 =======================================================================