Mailing List Rules of Etiquette
- Remember that when you post to the list, it is like standing up in front of a crowded room and giving a speech: you are effectively talking to a large and varied group of people and asking them to take the time to listen. Carefully review your post or reply to make sure of the following:
- You have something constructive to say that relates to puppets and/or the art of puppetry (practice or theory) in some way.
- You have checked your facts, and whenever possible, provide sources for your facts.
- You avoid presenting opinion as fact or in a way where others might misinterpret it as factual.
- When replying to an existing post or chain of posts, always make sure of the following:
- You have something constructive to say. Do not make "me too" / "I agree" posts to the list!
- What you have to say makes sense to be said to the entire list (consider whether it could be more appropriate to reply to the poster directly off-list.)
- You have checked the From: line as well any inline attributions and you know you are addressing the right person with your response.
- You have carefully re-read the previous post you are replying to and fully understand what was being said.
- If you include the previous post (or chain of posts), you have trimmed it judiciously to remove anything unnecessary, but with caution to not modify (whether intentionally or unintentionally) someone else's content so as to change their meaning by removing important context.
- If you wish to reply directly to someone, make sure you have removed the list address from your response's To: and Cc: lines and are only sending to the email address of the individual. Taking a few moments to double-check can save you a great deal of embarrassment.
- Respect the fact that no one knows everything, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Libel will not be tolerated on the list, nor will trolling or flame wars.
- While puppetry and politics and religion have a long intertwined history, there is a difference in
Discussing the politics and/or religious connections of puppetry - and -
Injecting one's own personal political or religious views.
The former is perfectly acceptable – the latter should be avoided.
- If you are really bothered by what someone has posted, step away from your computer and try to avoid responding for at least twenty four hours. Time heals all wounds, and you'll likely be able to respond more objectively if you get away from the conversation for a while.
- Advertising your business or anything for sale or hire on the list should be avoided, but is perfectly acceptable under certain conditions:
- Mentioning performances you are doing that are open to the public (but only on a periodic basis).
- Mentioning your business if it is applicable to answering someone else's question (e.g. "Does anyone know of a marionette performer / builder in city XYZ?").
- Advertising for the sole purpose of disposing of puppets or puppetry items that you no longer need or can keep due to downsizing, moving, etc.
- Sharing pictures of your own creations (on a periodic basis), as long as you are not stating or implying that they are up for sale (unless you are in the process of disposing of older creations as described previously).
- If you are not sure about the appropriateness of posting something, by all means feel free to ask the moderator first. Just send an email to puppetpost-owner [at] puppetpost {dot} org to contact the moderator off-list.