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Usage Guidelines and FAQs about the
SALIS-L Listserv
Purpose and Audience:
SALIS-L is: an electronic discussion
list for members of Substance Abuse Librarians and Information
Specialists. It provides for the rapid exchange of information,
assistance, debate, and discussion of professional issues
among SALIS members. Participation in the listserv is
limited to SALIS members in the Full (including ELISAD)
category.
SALIS-L is not for:
- Questions from the general public.
- Outside advertisements or market research. (see
below)
Guidelines for
Messages:
1. Only subscribed users can post messages.
Messages sent from non-subscribers are
automatically rejected. Messages from subscribed
members must be sent from the e-mail address known
by the list software, or they cannot be accepted.
(See below for Help with SALIS-L
subscription.)
Send messages intended for all SALIS-L subscribers
to: SALIS-L@u.washington.edu
2. Please keep postings within the scope of
the list.
SALIS-L is primarily for matters of professional
interest to substance abuse information professionals.
Please use restraint with humorous, inspirational,
and out-of-scope postings -- remember that your
message will be sent to 100+ busy professionals
all around the world.
3. Individual vs. Public Messages
Just as it is important to share public
information with the whole group, private messages
should remain just that - private. Send personal
messages directly to individuals by entering the
individual's address in the "to" field. When you
want to write to an individual, don't just use the
"reply" feature of your e-mail system to respond
to a message from the SALIS-L list - if you do,
your reply will go to the whole list instead of
the individual.
SALIS members are often interested in others' queries,
and appreciate reading answers to most questions;
but, if you are soliciting multiple replies, such
as in a survey or publication offering, as a courtesy
you should ask for individual replies to your address.
For some types of reference questions you might
want to solicit individual responses, but offer
to summarize the responses for the whole list. This
technique allows the information to be shared with
the whole list, but in a summary form rather than
in bits and pieces.
4. Descriptive subject lines
Please use a clear, descriptive subject
line. The more descriptive you are, the more likely
people will read and respond to your posting. Here
are a few samples of descriptive subjects lines
and replies:
- Subj: online assessment / intervention
- Subj: Internat'l statistics on cirrhosis?
- Subj: New medical marijuana booklet available
- Subj: Job Posting: St. Louis, MO (USA)
Please don't use generic subject lines
such as "Help," "Need help," and "Need Info."
When you respond to a posting, check the subject
line to make sure it still reflects the topic
at hand, and if needed, enter a new subject line
about the new topic.
To initiate a new discussion or request, start
a new message with an appropriate subject line.
5. Include your signature.
Write your full name, affiliation, and e-mail
address at the bottom of your message. Some subscribers
receive e-mail messages with the header information
stripped away by their local e-mail system, so
they don't know the author of a particular posting
unless the sender's name is included in the message
text. Make it easy for people to contact you!
6. Provide context.
Every posting should begin with a concise introduction
to the topic, or make reference to the topic of
a previous posting. There are often several "threads"
of discussion going on simultaneously, which makes
unreferenced postings confusing to readers.
A popular way of providing context is to quote
verbatim from the original message. Please keep
the quotations *short* and *relevant*. Cut out
unnecessary text and repetitive signature information
from previous senders. See # 7 below for suggestions
on providing context for reference questions.
Finally, please proofread your messages before
sending to make sure they are complete and say
what you meant to say.
7. Reference requests
SALIS-L should not be used as a substitute for
your own investigative work. Use your local resources
before turning to SALIS-L. When you do send a
reference query, indicate where you have already
checked.
8. Requesting articles (interlibrary
loan)
Please use your local resources before turning
to SALIS-L for help finding an article. Copyright
and licensing agreements should be observed. Publications
that are copyrighted should not be distributed
over the SALIS list-serv. For more about ILL,
please read these ILL
Guidelines.
8. Forwarded messages
Messages may be forwarded from other lists if
relevant to SALIS members, and if permitted by
the original sender. Please cut out extraneous
lines, but leave enough information to identify
the original source. Messages from the SALIS-L
list may be forwarded to others, but crediting
the original sender or SALIS is appreciated. Use
caution when forwarding SALIS-L messages to nonmembers;
remember that they will not be able to reply directly
to the list.
10. "Thank you" and "me too" messages
Send "thank you" mesages to individuals
privately; if you've received the information
needed, it's courteous to send a "got it" message
to the list to let everyone else know. Other examples
of messages that should be sent privately are:
requests for copies of offered materials, and
"me too" messages (as in, "send me a copy of that,
too"), survey responses, and very specific replies
to questions that are not likely to be of general
interest.
11. Humor
Humor is appreciated, but please remember that
humor in e-mail can easily be misinterpreted.
Don't forward the many humorous e-mails that circulate
on the Internet to SALIS-L; our list is intended
primarily for professional use.
12. Censorship
SALIS-L is unmoderated; that means that what
members post goes directly to all the other members.
In order to keep the list useful, it is important
that only pertinent messages are posted to the
list. If a member consistently posts inappropriate
messages, his or her subscription to the list
may be terminated.
13. Quality of Communication
Debate about professional matters is welcome
on SALIS-L. If you disagree with something posted
on the list, you have every right to voice your
objections - but politely. You may also express
your complaints directly to the person responsible.
14. Advertisements / Announcements
SALIS-L does not accept ads from outside publishers
or other vendors or commercial entities, etc.
However, many members of SALIS work in organizations
that publish materials; occasional announcements
of new resources from a member's organization,
either print or web-based, are appropriate if
related to the interests of SALIS, as are announcements
of conferences if they're relevant. Questions
and discussion initiated by SALIS members about
products or services are appropriate; this provides
a forum for help and recommendations among colleagues
on the list. Announcements of available jobs in
the substance abuse information field are welcome.
15. Mistakes
Everyone makes them. Perfect people are not allowed
to subscribe to SALIS-L. If you send a message
to the list by mistake, you do not need to send
an apology to the whole list unless the message
might be truly offensive or personal. Assume that
your colleagues will delete the unintended message
and overlook your error!
16. Other Posting Considerations
Don't send long documents directly to the list.
Describe the document and give instructions for
retrieving it, or offer to send it to those interested.
Try to keep postings as brief as possible. If
you have a web site, consider making long documents
available for downloading from the web.
Plain text is the most universally acceptable
format for messages; messages formatted in HTML
or with graphics may not be readable to all users.
Avoid (or explain) jargon, abbreviations or colloquial
language that may be unknown to an international
audience. Abbreviations such as "PST" (Pacific
Standard Time) or "SAMHSA" may be completely familiar
in the USA, but not worldwide.
Refrain from sending unsubstantiated virus warnings,
unless you are confident of their authenticity.
Many virus warnings are actually hoaxes.
Getting Your Default
Password
Your SALIS-L password allows you to access the SALIS-L
message archives and also to change the configuration
of your subscription, e.g. change e-mail address, temporarily
postpone SALIS mail, etc. A few things to
remember if you access the password features:
. Your SALIS-L password is NOT the same as the password
for the Members Only section of the SALIS web site.
. If you are already subscribed to the list, you DO
NOT need to subscribe again.
. You must have cookies enabled in order to send the
password request, or else administrative changes will
not take effect. You might need to lower your browser
security in order to get the password.
. At the bottom of each list message and web page
is a link to the main page for the SALIS-L list. If
you get lost and have to start over, go to the bottom
and click on the list name, i.e. SALIS-L. The main
page is the one to bookmark, since this where you'll
find the link to archives and other features.
- To get your password the first time, or to get
a reminder of your existing password, go to the
SALIS-L Info page on the Web: http://mailman.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/salis-l
- Scroll down to the BOTTOM of the page.
- Go to the last option box next to the "Unsubscribe
or edit options" button and type in
your complete e-mail address.
- Click the "Unsubscribe or edit options"
button. You will be directed to a SALIS-L Member
Options page. [blue horizontal bars on
this page]
- Scroll down to until you see the Password
Reminder heading.
- Click the Remind button.
- A default password will be e-mailed to you, usually
in minutes. On the SALIS-L mailing list membership
configuration page (see below) you can change this
password to something easier to remember.
Changing Your SALIS-L
Configuration
If you want to change your mail configuration, e.g.
change password, temporarily disable mail delivery,
or switch to digest mode, the above instructions 1 though
4 apply.
1. - 4. Same as above
5. Enter your password. (If you have never changed
your password, enter your default password.)
6. Click the Log in button. You will
be directed to the SALIS-L mailing list membership
configuration page. [blue and yellow bars
on this page]
7. Scroll down the page to the section with the setting
you want to modify. Be sure to click "submit
my changes" at the bottom to save your new settings.
Accessing the SALIS-L
Archives
1. Go to the SALIS-L Info page on the Web: http://mailman.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/salis-l
If you have not yet logged in, a log in page will display.
1.
Enter your email address.
2.
Enter your password.
3.
Click the Let me in button
For Help With Your SALIS-L
Subscription
The SALIS-L list manager can easily handle postponing
message, setting to digest mode, etc. Don't hesitate
to ask for this help if you prefer that to the steps
described above! Contact the SALIS-L list manager, Nancy Sutherland
(nsutherland@adai.washington.edu) if you want help to:
- Postpone messages temporarily (while you're on vacation,
e.g.)
- Unsubscribe to the SALIS list
- Send SALIS-L mail from more than one account (e.g.
home and work) and would like to have an "alias" subscription
for the second account
- Replace another SALIS member at your organization
and want to switch the SALIS-L subscription to your
name
- Or if you have problems or questions about using
SALIS-L.
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