[Elecraft] Some Important basic list guidelines [PLEASE READ]

[Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft]

I'll post the complete Elecraft list guidelines in a moment, but I'd 
like to focus on several important core items first. These are absolute 
guidelines for list behavior.

The Elecraft list is provided as a service to our customers and other 
hams, and to provide Wayne, myself and other Elecraft employees with 
direct feedback from you on technical, operational and market issues 
surrounding our products. While discussion centers on Elecraft products, 
other ham radio related topics are OK. But please keep the number of OT 
posts within reason.

1. Please be polite and non-confrontational in ALL postings to the 
Elecraft list. Vibrant discussions are OK, but please treat each posting 
you send as if you were talking respectfully to a good friend. It is 
never appropriate to personally criticize another list member. And never 
directly criticize someone for asking a 'dumb' question. There are no 
dumb questions. We are here to learn and share. We can only get there by 
asking questions freely, without repercussions.

1a. Corollary to #1: If you feel upset and dash off a quick overheated 
reply to a posting, pause and wait overnight before hitting send. The 
clarity of a little sleep and delay usually consigns your posting to the 
trash bin instead.

1b. If you have exclamation points '!' , sharp retorts, rude statements, 
personal criticisms etc. in your email text or subject line, that is a 
red flag indicating you should probably delete that posting before 
sending it.

1c. It is not necessary to defend Elecraft, our products, or our honor 
here. We're pretty tough and and can take most critical postings in 
stride. Eleven years in the Ham Radio business does that to you ;-)

2. Once a thread has hit 10-15 postings and there is little new 
information being added, please treat it as complete and ended.  (Less 
than this for OT postings.) Especially avoid voting pro/con on any topic 
or making 'me too' postings.  I'm pretty darn busy running the company 
each day and do not read the list every hour to moderate it.

3. If you see a posting that appears to be too harsh or confrontational, 
resist the temptation to reply to it. Period. In many cases the poster 
is already sorry they hit send (I've done that a few times..) and wishes 
they could retrieve and delete it.   Making additional postings in reply 
only adds heat to the fire and no substance. If you really need to say 
something about it, send your email to me as list moderator and head 
playground monitor.

4. Remember that -everything- you post here is archived and publicly 
visible for as long as the internet exists. Do you really want your 
friends, employers, kids etc. reading what you just posted in anger, 
foolishness, arrogance etc?

5. Most importantly - please remember that for list members, this is a 
-hobby-. We are all here to have fun and to learn from each other. It is 
not a life or death profession and nothing, I repeat -nothing- posted 
here is important enough here for you to get upset or argue endlessly 
about. If something bothers you, turn off the computer and turn on your 
radio. That usually fixes everything..

Wayne and I really appreciate your suggestions, complaints, enthusiasm 
and the overall vibrancy of the list. It provides us with a central, 
focused feedback path from you that we feel is indispensable to our 
success.  And its occasionally entertaining too :-)

73, Eric   WA6HHQ
List moderator