[percy-l] Important Update--How to contact the list moderator/search the percy-l archives

Henry Mills hpmills3 at austin.rr.com
Sun Oct 10 10:13:45 EDT 2010


Dear Percy-L,

In recently reviewing the Percy-L Guidelines, an updated version of which I
post below, I observed that there was an incorrect email address specified
for contacting me as list moderator.  (The Percy-L Guidelines are
automatically distributed to new members at list sign-up.) Please note that
list members should use following permanent email address for sending any
questions, comments, or other special concerns to me regarding the list or
its operations: 

    percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org

Now in its fifteen year of operation, Percy-L currently has 110 members with
all posts since 2001 conveniently archived at the following address:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/. Note that you can search the
Percy-L archives by using the following Google command:

    Google command to search the Percy-L archives:
        site:lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/ [search string (omit the
brackets)] 
    Put this command in the Google search box, not in your browser¹s URL
box.

I encourage all members to bring new discussion topics regarding Percy or
his works to the list at any time, including potential discussion or
correlation of the relevance of his work to current events. Please also do
take a few minutes to review the updated Percy-L Guidelines found below and
save this email for your future reference.

I look forward to the next round of discussion!

Best regards,

Henry Mills
Percy-L Moderator 
The Walker Percy Project, Founder

http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy (WPP website)



********************************************************************
                PERCY-L GUIDELINES: PLEASE SAVE THIS WELCOME MESSAGE
********************************************************************

PERCY-L GUIDELINES
This document provides an overview of the Percy-L listserv discussion
policies followed by a list of the basic user commands for operating your
account.  Please save this document for future reference.

A. GENERAL POLICIES
The Percy-L forum is open to the discussion of all topics pertaining to the
work and thought of the American novelist and philosopher Walker Percy.
Students, general readers, and scholars are all welcome, as well as simply
the curious. There is no standing agenda for the list except the promotion
of commentary of the sort that one would expect from people with a special
interest in Percy.  As such, the list will remain unmoderated unless some
future reason requires it. A diverse range of critical perspectives is
therefore welcomed, if not encouraged, as long as the manner and method of
expression are responsible and respectful of the parties they are addressed
to, as well as the larger list membership as a whole.

(Quick Links)
The following is a list of ³quick links² related to the list (also see the
bottom of these guidelines for additional listings):
    1) To post to this list, send your email to: percy-l at lists.ibiblio.org
    2) General information about the list and account management options
such as password retrieval are available at:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l
    3) All messages are publicly archived at the following address:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/

B. INTRODUCING YOURSELF
Please consider introducing yourself to the Percy-L community even if you
plan to participate only as an observer. The more we all know what our
various interests are, the more likely it is that someone will address them
in some way.  With any good fortune, as list discussion and participation
grow, Percy-L will develop into a vital community resource, from both its
ongoing inquiry into Percy's work as well as the record of discussion that
is contained in the list's permanent archives. The more we invest ourselves
in the list, and in developing connections with one another, the more fully
we will all benefit from it by the communal undertaking it is.

C. INTRODUCING TOPICS
Members should feel free to introduce a new topic for discussion or to
respond to any existing "thread" or line of thought already in process at
any time, as you see fit. This medium of communication takes multiple
"threads" of discourse to be a given: anyone can enter into the discussion
at any time, just as those already involved in it can pay as much or as
little attention to whatever is of interest to them. Needless to say, both
patience and tolerance are encouraged in all matters related to the list,
for electronic discussion of this sort is fraught with the potential for
misunderstanding, even as it provides for new channels of discussion.

If no one responds to your post, you should not assume that that is because
of a lack of interest, or that your post is perceived as unimportant.
Frequently, the interested reader just doesn't have time to respond, and few
of us have time to answer more than a small percentage of the posts that are
of interest to us in any case. Therefore, pose your questions and comments
well by your own standards, and remind yourself that, even if there is no
direct response, what you have said or asked will be read by a large body of
Percy-enthusiasts. And who is to say in what way ripples may occur following
any post? If response is important to you, then wait a month or so and try
sending your query again.

D. REPLYING TO TOPICS
In replying to posted topics, it is helpful to others if you provide a
beginning line in your message indicating who you are replying to and about
what (brevity is encouraged when it comes to quoting). For the same reason,
you should also consider having a closing signature line or block in all of
your messages that identifies who you are or your affiliation. How much
information you wish to provide about yourself is up to you, but any
information you provide will likely help members keep better track of the
conversational flow.

E. A NOTE ON THE NATURE OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS
During group discussions, it is not infrequent that participants may wish to
individually address others through the list, but such an occurrence does
not necessarily mean that the discussion has become "personal" in the sense
that it would best be conducted off-list.  To put it in other words, what is
personal and what is _private_ are two separate matters. Rather, the
question at hand is whether the discussion concerns topics of broader
relevance to the purposes of the list as a whole as identified in section A.

It is therefore more than acceptable for any number of individuals in public
electronic-based discussions of this sort to pursue special interests as
long as there is nothing deliberately exclusive of others in it, either
explicitly or in tone.  However, if you have any problems about topics being
posted, or in connection with the receipt or posting of your own messages,
please contact the list administrator at percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org.

F. SPECIAL DISCUSSION CONSIDERATIONS
In order to keep discussion focused on Percy subjects, please observe the
following discussion guidelines:

        1) Avoid introducing what might be considered partisan political
topics, unless they directly bear on or are consciously correlated to Percy
and his thought. This rule does not exclude current events from discussion,
but merely underscores that this is a listserv dedicated to Percy topics,
not personal political agendas.

        2) Please do not forward outside announcements through the list
unless a case can be made for a direct connection to Percy and the interests
of those who have joined the list. If in doubt, please contact the list
administrator at percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org.

        3) Please contact the list administrator at
percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org before submitting any posts involving the
marketing of Percy-related products if you represent a business or
non-profit group (bookstores, film-makers, etc.). Individual, non-commercial
collectors of such items as rare books or memorabilia are welcome to post to
the list at any time as long as the messages involved specify that
interested parties should approach the seller off-list to conduct any
transactions.

G. SPECIAL TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
In order to keep list operations efficient, please be aware of and observe
the following technical concerns:

        1) HTML-based email messages will post as HTML, though members
should be mindful that a select few of list members may not have their email
applications HTML-enabled so any special formatting you use will be lost.
Text-only messages are assured to be readable by all however you format
them.

        2) Please do not send images through the listserv. If you wish for
members to see a particular image, place it on a website and then direct the
members of the list to it by including the URL in your message body. Since
some members may use a dial-up connection, this tactic provides individual
users with the option of viewing the image, and hence will limit frustration
with download times associated with the list. The same holds true for any
other media items such as sound, video, or animation files.

        3) Lastly, please do not forward any large attachments through the
list. This rule also limits member frustration with long download times. If
you have a particular document to share that relates to Percy, please make
certain that its size is no more than 100kb. Also, be mindful of sending the
document in a format that will be readily accessible to all members, for
instance, Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF. Alternatively, and perhaps the best
option given virus concerns (many members will be wary of opening a file
attachment), you can cut-and-paste the contents of your document directly
into the body of the email message.  Since this method will distribute your
document¹s content in a text-only format, the size of the document will be
considerably smaller, and there is no risk of transmitting/receiving a virus
in a text-only email.

H. A FEW POSTING TIPS: CURRENT & FUTURE READERS
Following these tips will help insure a better quality of present list
discussion and enhance future accessibility to your messages in the
archives:

        1) Please quote messages you are replying to astutely and sparingly,
using your cut, paste, and delete functions.  A "reader-friendly" message
has a better chance of being responded to.

        2) Avoid short, personal comments along the lines of "I agree,"
etc., that do not significantly advance Percy content discussion. These
comments would best be submitted solely to the person they are intended for
rather than to the listserv address (i.e., the entire membership). Please be
heedful of the time of the list members--many belong to multiple mailing
lists--by only submitting posts that in some shape or form better the
interests of the entire community.

        3) Always fill in the "subject" box of your email to help readers
identify your topic of discussion.

        4) Remember that if you use the "reply" command to a message you
have received through the list, your message will be distributed publicly to
all members of the list. However, if you want to have private correspondence
with someone who has sent a message through the list, you should create a
_new_ e-mail message and address it specifically to him or her lest the
entire list will read your message.

        5) To help individual members of the Percy-L community follow the
context of your comments, be attentive to your use of quoting and quote
identification methods. For example, consider including the following sample
information immediately below the text of your comments in an email message
response:

At 06:18 PM 9/17/96, Binx Bolling wrote:

>I am on a search!

If you wish to add other quotes to your message from multiple posts or other
sources, be certain to identify clearly where the material comes from in a
way that you determine will make best sense to your post¹s readers.  As
before, the better crafted and referenced your message, the more likely it
will generate thoughtful response from the community.
 
===========================================================

A. USER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
The following links and information will be useful to you in managing your
listserv account. All changes to your account require your specified
password (listed below).  Note: This is a hidden list. The member roster is
available only to the list administrator.

B. QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR CONCERNS?
Please direct questions, comments, or other concerns about the Percy-L
Guidelines or about listserv operations to the list administrator at
percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org.

C. USER LINKS & OPTIONS
All messages are archived at the following address:

  http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/

Subscribe via the listserv web page at:

  http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/percy-l

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/attachments/20101010/8bd3703d/attachment.html>


More information about the Percy-L mailing list