Netiquette

An Idiot's Guide to Etiquette on the Cinematography Mailing List (a reminder for the rest of us!)


*/ When you try to determine whether to reply to someone via private e-mail or with a posting to the entire group, remember to "praise in public, criticise in private." It's OK to disagree technically but be careful not to attack the person with whom you disagree.


*/ Before you send your posting, ***double-check the addressee***. This is extremely important, as 1) you may inadvertently send very private thoughts to hundreds of people around the world, and 2) you may be-- and in fact many times are-- much better off just sending your reply to the original poster, not the whole group.


*/ When posting a follow-up message, *always* try to minimise the number of lines of quoted material from the previous message. Quote only for contextual clarity.


*/ Use a descriptive subject...

For example, a message subject of "cinematography" tells the reader nothing about the contents of your article since the mailing list is about cinematography. Other examples of subjects which are so broad that they become useless might include"Help," "A Question," "Colour," "Arri," or "16mm". Maybe "Help on green screen 16mm" or "Cyan : is it closer to green or blue?" In a busy mailing list some users decide which messages to read from the subject line alone. Also, the entire message database is archived on the World Wide Web, and descriptive subject lines are extremely useful when there are several hundred messages on the screen.

*/ Many subjects have been discussed before, and are available as archived threads. Check the website.


*/ Include your name and preferably, also your job title/location in your posts. Many subscribers at AOL and other providers have no identification string in the 'From:' header field, so an unsigned post can be impossible to attribute. If you post without signing your message, expect to be treated anonymously in return, i.e. you may be ignored.


*/ When being especially "flame-buoyant" take a break before posting something in anger or that might hurt or anger others.


*/ Don't overdo signatures. A signature that is longer than the message itself is total pain.


*/ Try to use 75 or fewer characters per line, as this allows quoting without exceeding the normal 80-column line limit.


*/ Try not to use control characters, 'quoted-printables', or other 8-bit data. It will not be passed by most mail servers and gateways. This will result in your message vanishing.

*/ Post in PLAIN TEXT not HTML, if you ignore this you'll cause problems for the digest and the archives, and you don't want to do that do you ?...This issue is still being addressed!

*/ Be considerate with your use of network resources. Your individual usage may not seem like much compared to the net as a whole, but in aggregate, small savings in disk or CPU add up to a great deal. For instance, messages offering thanks, jibes, or congratulations will only need to be seen by the interested parties -- send these by mail rather than posting them. The same goes for simple questions, and especially for any form of "me too" posting. Each message sent via the CML is relayed out to hundreds of other sites, so make your message count.


*/ Advertising is not permitted on the cinematography mailing list. If, in your zeal for a particular product, you want to deflect impressions of impropriety, disclaim your message at the end, e.g.: "I am not in the employ or service of the manufacturer(s) above".


*/ Remember -- this is an international network of several hundred professionals... your current or future employers may be reading your messages. But hey, if they can't take a joke :-)


*/ Enjoy and make use of the CML, it can be a powerful resource.

(This is a modified form of the TIG etiquette file by Rob Linglebach)

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