5. Take a little time and trim down the previous post to the part you are replying to, cutting off the useless stuff at the beginning and extraneous lines. A useful rule of thumb is to post more new material than re-posted "regurgitated" quoted material. We will all appreciate it.

PLEASE, trim off replied-to posts. We don't usually need another complete copy in your reply to understand it. We already read the post you are replying to, and don't have time to read it again.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR OBSERVING THIS GUIDELINE. The Internet will thank you as well, and reward you by speeding up your message to its destination.

6. When exchanging email with someone privately, it is usually not polite to post their personal responses to you to the List. ALWAYS get permission first.

7. If you are replying privately and wish to have the other Listmembers see your post, add the List address to the CC line of your email message. If you have been having a private conversation, you probably shouldn't add the List to any further exchanges, unless your correspondent doesn't mind. Then, it's fine.

Other common net etiquette guidelines may also apply here on our Mailing List.

8. NO FLAMES.

Like your mother used to say, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Remember, you are speaking in a public forum. If you use that forum for personal attacks, it will damage your reputation much more than that of the person you are attacking. You will also be removed from the List. Don't do it.

Note: Don’t forget, what appears on this List goes into archives and is available for all to see. Once you press that send button, it’s too late for regrets. You’ll be down on record for the duration. Be sure to wait until the sun rises before replying when your adrenaline is up. Reread it in the morning, and see if you don’t think differently. You’ll be glad you did. :-)

9. Note about Vires:

Virus alerts deserve special attention here, because they happen so often. Besides the fact that they are usually hoaxes, this is not the proper forum for announcements about vires. Rule of thumb: If you received a virus alert from a friend via email, it's probably a hoax. Don't post it to any Mailing Lists. Think about it: the message is the virus.

10. Do Not Attempt To Moderate the List.

If you see that someone has violated a rule on the List, please do not post a message to the List about it. If it really bugs you, write to us and we'll handle it. When lots of people start moderating the List, it creates chaos, and it's humiliating to those who receive warnings from too many people.

Note: If you see someone break a rule on the List, but you don't see a note from us chastising them for it, that's because we don't do that. When we find it necessary to remind someone of these rules, we usually do it in private email. So you won't see it. That doesn't mean we didn't do it, it just means that we respect your privacy (and your ego). :-)

11. No Personal Battles.

Please, brothers and sisters, do not bring your personal battles to our List. If you are having a problem with another Listmember, that is a personal battle and is no business of ours, or of anyone else on our List. We cannot and will not get involved with any personal issues that are not directly related to the List.

In particular, if someone has sent you private email that you consider harmful, we have no jurisdiction over the problem even if that other person is a Listmember.

Anyone who has or develops such a level of adversarialism and demonstrates it on the List will be subject to immediate ejection from the List.

In the case of persistent flamers who will not leave you alone, forward the offending posts to the List Owner for verification of said offense, and flamer will be removed from the List. Permanently. We don't have to show the whole world what a creep we have found, do we?

“It takes more of a man to walk away from a fight than to fight one” -- something else my mother said. Take it to heart. Don’t let some foolish person drag you down with them, because you’ll both be ejected, and you won’t be reinstated.

Remember, it takes two to fight.
When you refuse someone's invitation,
They will be stuck with their own frustration! :-)

12. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (Tip: It's All Small Stuff.)

Now and then you may get a message from us about something that seems small and petty, and perhaps, it is just that. Please don't take it personally. We have many users and very little time to work on the List. We run this List, not because we have to, but because we want to. If we remind you of some small rule, it's just because we care about the List and want to keep it running smoothly.

13. Use of our free email discussion group, LovingSpirit, to post what you and others write, constitutes agreement to these rules and future updates to this Rules List that we may add from time to time.