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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. Membership on the list is limited to
SALIS members in the Full, Institutional, and ELISAD categories
of membership.
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. Keep postings within the scope of the list.
SALIS-L is for matters of professional interest
to substance abuse information professionals. Please use
restraint with humorous, inspirational, and out-of-scope
postings. Keep in mind 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 correspondence 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
Always 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: Need: J Consulting Clin Psychol 1998 - Subj: Re: Need: J Consulting Clin Psychol 1998 - FOUND
Subj: Need 4 items [Number each item separately in
the msg] - Subj: Re: Need 4 items -- SENDING # 2, 4
- 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, retype a new subject
line.
To initiate a new discussion or request, start a new message
with an appropriate subject line.
5. Include your signature.
Write your full name and e-mail address at the bottom
of your posting and include your affiliation, mailing address,
phone, and fax if you're asking readers to send something
to you individually. Some subscribers receive e-mail messages
with the header information stripped away by their local e-mail
system and therefore cannot 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 and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests
For reference queries, 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 what sources you have already
consulted. ILL requests should be used for titles users cannot
locate through their regular ILL channels. If the request
is urgent, be sure to state that in your subject line. In
the message text, repeat the journal name, vol. etc., even
if noted in the subject line.
8. Forwarded messages
Messages may be forwarded from other lists if relevant
to SALIS members, and if permitted by the original sender.
Please edit 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.
9. "Thank you" and "me too" messages
Send individual "thank you's" privately; if you've
received the information needed, it's courteous to send a
"halt" message to the list to stop others from continuing
to respond to a request (the person who provides the answer
may also indicate that to the list). 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Advertisements / Announcements
SALIS-L does not accept advertisements and/or product
announcements from outside publishers, producers of software,
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 when
they are related to the interests of the membership. Announcements
of resources or conferences are acceptable as long as they
are relevant to the interests of the SALIS membership. Try
to keep these brief. 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.
14. 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!
15. 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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