Rules, Topic Scheme, Info
Patients discussion group on chronic fatigue syndrome
This discussion group on chronic fatigue syndrome is accessible as an e-mail list, a Usenet newsgroup, and via a web page (see notice E below.) For a wealth of CFS related information visit the web page at http://www.cfs-news.org . Please read the following rules and notices.
This group was originally created with no rules, but we have found over time that the group doesn't work well unless it does have some rules. The following rules were developed in open discussion with all participants. GROUP RULES:
1. Discussion is limited to chronic fatigue syndrome.
2. No commercial advertisements.
3. Do not attack fellow group participants in public or in private. If you see an attack, do not answer it but please forward it to the moderators at CFS-L-REQUEST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU .
4. Use and respect the topic keyword system (see below). The special topic keyword ALL: is reserved for use by the moderator only.
5. Do not over-quote prior messages; no attachments allowed; no encoded text of any kind, i.e. no image files, no HTML code, no compressed files; no word-processing documents; no newsletters.
6. There is a 300-line limit on personal postings, i.e. text written by oneself that will be used only as a one-time posting to this group.
7. There is a 100-line limit on messages other than personal postings, such as documents, web pages, and any other texts or messages copied from outside of the group. Such postings may not be split up to get around this 100-line limit.
About half of the participants access this group via e-mail, and the high volume of messages are overwhelming unless the topic system is used. Please respect the needs of other readers and use the topic system by including the appropropriate keyword in the Subject: line of your messages. TOPICS SCHEME
Almost any message can be posted with no keyword at all, unless it belongs in the non-CFS topics of CHAT or HUMOR. The most commonly used topics are (no keyword), MED, and CHAT. The definitions of all of the topic keywords are as follows:
CFS-L
(no keyword) Known as the "OTHER" topic, this open category is appropriate for almost all postings except those dealing with social chatter and humor. But please do use a keyword such as MED: when appropriate since more people will then see your message. MEDical: Medical care issues such as treatment and diagnosis questions for individual cases,how to find a doctor; how to handle your doctor for CFS. (Caution: messages on this group cannot serve as medical advice.) INTRO: Questions about the group, for newcomers. ADMIN: For discussing issues about this group itself; the rules, how they are applied, possible new topic categories. FAQ: Special notices for "frequently asked questions"; the formal notices will be posted by the moderators only, but follow-up discussion about them or how they may be improved may be posted here. CFS-CHAT
CHAT: Social discussion about non-CFS issues. HUMor: Humor. Messages for CFS-CHAT should be posted by email to CFS-CHAT@MAESLTROM.STJOHNS.EDU or to the newsgroup alt.med.cfs.chat.
Activist messages are barred from this group, and should be posted to CFIDS-L or other groups.
Keywords must end with a colon, e.g. ADMIN:.
E-mail subscribers can restrict received messages to only selected topics. Contact the Tech Support volunteers for assistance by writing to CFS-L-REQUEST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU, or to adjust your subscription yourself, proceed as follows:
Send an e-mail message in the form of SET CFS-L TOPICS topic1 topic2 etc. to the address LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
To later add additional topics, you can send an e-mail message in the form of SET CFS-L TOPICS +topic1 +topic2. To delete certain topics, send a message like SET CFS-L TOPICS -topic1 -topic2. The open, "no keyword" topic may be referred to as OTHER. To see your current topics setting, send an e-mail which says QUERY CFS-L. Digest and Index subscribers receive all messages regardless of topic.
An abbreviation unique to the topic keyword relative to the other keywords may be used in place of the full keyword, and is encouraged. Please use the abbreviations as shown.
CFS Group -- TOPICS Cheat Sheet
(print out and keep near your keyboard)CFS-L
(none) any CFS posts except chat and humor
MED: medical care, individual cases
INTRO: questions about the group, for newcomers
ADMIN: about the CFS group
FAQ: special notices on "frequently asked questions"
CFS-CHAT
(none) social talk
HUM: humor
Activist messages are barred from this group, and should be posted to CFIDS-L or other groups.
Never reply blindly, always check that your Subject: has the correct topic. Topic keywords always include a colon.
A. MODERATED GROUP. This is a moderated group. The moderators have complete discretion on how rule violations will be handled. Once a case has been taken up by the moderators, it may not be discussed publicly. NOTICES
When a rule is violated, do not criticize the person yourself but instead forward the entire offending message including complete mail headers to the moderators at CFS-L-REQUEST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU. Messages sent to any moderator are shared among all moderators, and messages received from any moderator represent the views of the entire Moderation Team.
Permanent changes to the rules are adopted only after a draft of the change has been posted to the reserved ALL: topic by the moderators and there has been an opportunity for discussion by everyone under the ADMIN: topic. Readers are expected to read every notice posted to ALL: by the moderators (these notices are infrequent).
B. NETIQUETTE and Guidelines. A foremost rule of netiquette throughout the entire Internet is to never publicly post a private message from someone unless you have first obtained permission from the author. It is advisable to gain the author's permission before making any use of a message other than quoting it within the same group where it was posted.
In this group in particular, it is important to write your messages in a sensitive and understanding manner and allow some latitude for the sometimes brainfogged posts of others. See this group's Guidelines document and other netiquette references on the web at http://CFS-L.home.att.net/index.htm#RULES or send an e-mail message which says GET CFS-L GUIDE to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU .
C. DISCLAIMER: Any advice which may be given on this list regarding diagnoses or treatments, etc., reflects only the opinion of the individual posting the message. Those who have CFS are urged to consult with a licensed health care practitioner who is familiar with the illness.
D. PRIVATE vs. PUBLIC: All messages posted to this group are distributed to Usenet and thus can be read by millions of people world-wide. All messages are also stored at DejaNews and other services where anyone can read what you have posted in the past. A six-month archive is also available to this group's registrants. Never post anything here that you would not wish to be made public knowledge.
E. POSTING PRIVILEGES: This group is both a newsgroup and an e-mail list. Those who would like be able to post messages directly to the newsgroup alt.med.cfs must register for posting privileges. Request this by contacting the moderators at CFS-L-REQUEST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU or you can register yourself as follows. Create an e-mail message which says
SUB CFS-L YourFirstName YourLastName
(but use your own first name and last name) and send to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU . You will receive a confirmation request by return e-mail. Reply to that request (making sure not to delete the Subject: line) by sending only the following as the text of the message: OK If you are registering for the newsgroup, the procedure is now complete.
For a free subscription to the e-mail list, you must take the following step in addition to the above. After you have received final confirmation of your registration, you must send an e-mail message which says SET CFS-L MAIL to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU . Again, this last step is ONLY for e-mail subscribers. Those who wish to read via the newsgroup should not take this step, else you will get a lot of e-mail that you won't be expecting.
It is possible to limit the e-mail messages to certain formal topics of interest, thus minimizing the load of incoming e-mail. You can also receive the e-mails as a digest. For further information, contact the moderators at CFS-L-REQUEST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU or see detailed references in the next section below.
F. TECHNICAL AND NETWORK INFORMATION: For technical information about this group and its message archives, and about other CFS groups and resources on Internet/Usenet, read the CFS Network Help file. To obtain the file, see the web page at http://www.cfs-news.org/net-help.htm or send an e-mail message which says GET CFS NET-HELP to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU.
G. OTHER CFS INFORMATION: For a wealth of information about CFS, go via web to http://www.cfs-news.org or send an e-mail message which says
to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU .
Readers of this group are advised to also follow the CFS-NEWS electronic newsletter. To get on the free mailing list, send an e-mail message in the form of
SUB CFS-NEWS YourFirstName YourLastName
to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU .
For further advice, contact the moderators at address cfs-l-request@maelstrom.stjohns.edu .