Posting guidelines

Posting guidelines on the Mac Ministry List

Quoting of previous emails

When replying, edit the quoted material to "just enough" to give other readers a context for your response. Never quote the boiler plate text that appears at the bottom of every email on the list, and never quote sig lines unless that is the focus of the response. If you are not sure how to edit quoted material, feel free to ask on list.

Top and bottom posting

There is no rule on this list requiring folks to bottom-post or interleave postings. However:

• if somebody else has already started doing so in a particular thread, it is usually best to follow suit;
• if you prefer to top-post, don't let that stop you remembering to edit quoted material (see above).

Subject lines

When posting to the list, please provide an appropriate subject. Folks who receive the digest and reply to it should always change the subject line. Off topic items should have OT: added to the beginning of the Subject line. If the thread of discussion changes and the content no longer reflects the current subject line, change the subject line.

If it's you that changes the subject, don't simply change the subject line, but create a new email to mac-min@catug.org. If you need or want to reference the old subject, you can do so in the first paragraph, or cut and paste text from an email of the old thread.

The reason for the extra work is that some email programs thread messages together based on a message ID in the header info, not on the subject line per se. Using "Reply" makes it appear to those programs that it is in the same thread, no matter the subject line. Using a new message for a new topic bypasses that problem.

So for a new topic, changing the subject line is good, but creating a brand new message (instead of using reply) is best. To make this easy for you, the message footer now has a link to start a new message.

URLs

Feel free to post URLs you think would be of interest to the group. Please add an annotation so folks can decide if they really want to double click on them.

If the link is long, enclose it in < > characters without spaces. This should prevent the link from being broken even if it is split over multiple lines in the email.

On and off topic discussions

What is on topic is fairly broad. Anything relating to Mac/Apple/third Party hardware and software is on topic. Any usage techniques or troubleshooting issue or best practices are on topic. Anything related to industry news or Apple corporate or Mac advocacy is on topic. Sharing news on special deals and promotions on hardware or software and requests for help on a purchase decision on same are on topic. Any discussion of the content of the list or the operation of CATUG is on topic.

The off topic list is pretty straightforward as well. If the post focuses on current events, politics, Christian living, apologetics, theology, church life or style, or Bible interpretation then it is off topic and OT: should be added to the subject line so folks can filter or ignore as they please. Such discussions are not forbidden, we just ask for the OT: label in the subject line and we also ask for care in the length, frequency and tone of such discussions.

Most of the confusion on topicality comes from the "Ministry" part of our name. The best shorthand approach is to emphasize that the title "Mac Ministry" does not mean on topic discussion can be Macs OR Ministry but instead Macs AND Ministry.

The title is a carry over from a time when the list was geared almost exclusively as a resource for pastors, ministers and Christian workers. (Thus Mac-Min.) Over time the perception of the list both internally and externally and the list membership reflected a broadening to a more Mac-oriented general Christian list. This reflects in part the connection the list has to the CATUG web site. One major goal I have for the list is that if it has any bias it be in favor of the needs and concerns and issues of the pastors, missionaries and Christian workers on it.

The only exceptions are announcements about significant life events and prayer requests. And of course any material relating to Monty Python or The Princess Bride.

Feel free to discuss off topic matters here in a civil way but if you do please:

• start a new thread (don't just hit reply, open a new message)
• change the subject line to something more appropriate
• add OT: to the subject line.

Prayer requests, and responses

Requests for prayer are welcome on the Mac Ministry List. Although there are no limits on this, it is wise to be cautious about personal information, bearing in mind that the list goes to a few hundred people, many of whom you don't know at all.

As many subscribers to the list both read it regularly and have a habit of prayer, writers can safely assume that their requests are being prayed for around the clock and around the world! As a reader, if you would like to encourage the writer by just letting them know that you are praying, please write to them off-list. On the other hand, if you have additional information about the subject matter, or counsel that could be valued by others, please do send it on-list. If the thread develops into a broader discussion, the subject line should be marked OT:

Credits

• Contributed mainly by Brian Branschweiger, List-Thug, as "ADMIN" postings on Mac Ministry List since 2006

See also

• Talk:Posting guidelines for the rationale for some of these policies