[Elecraft] Some Important List Guidelines [ PLEASE READ ]

[Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft]

I'd like to focus on several important core items. 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. We're 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

www.elecraft.com
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