Ezine, Discussion and Announcement
List Etiquette
By Shelley Lowery
The information super highway, countless intertwining
roads of information all merging into one massive freeway.
That's the Internet. Just about any form of information
you could ever want, right at your fingertips.
The Internet is far more than just websites. Information
is delivered via email, downloads, newsgroups and forums
just to name a few. In addition, there are literally
thousands of ezines, discussion groups and announcement
lists.
These groups are composed of individuals who either
receive information in the form of a publication or
share information with a group. Although these lists
can provide you with a wealth of information, they can
be very time consuming for the owners. With that in
mind, this article will provide you with some basic
list etiquette guidelines.
Ezines
Ezines, also known as email magazines, online publications
and electronic newsletters, are simply newsletters available
via email and/or online.
Subscribers sign up to receive a publication and may
unsubscribe at any time. This publication may be delivered
to your email daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly.
Discussion Groups
Discussion groups are groups of individuals who have
signed up to participate in group discussions. This
type of group delivers messages to your email each time
a member posts. When you reply to a message, it will
be delivered to the entire group.
Announcement Lists
Announcement lists enable members to sign up to receive
and post announcements in regard to a specific subject.
This type of group may deliver messages as they are
posted or you may receive a certain number of the messages
at one time.
Forums/Message Boards
Forums or message boards are online threaded discussion
groups in which messages are displayed on web pages.
Some forums require you to register in order to become
a member, while others require no registration.
Moderators
Most types of discussion groups, announcement lists
and forums will have one or more moderators. Moderators
make sure that posts are appropriate and try to prevent
spammers from posting.
Posting Guidelines
No matter what type of list or group you join, each
will have its own set of posting guidelines. Make sure
you always review the guidelines and double-check your
post prior to submission. Not only will your message
get posted more quickly, but it will also save the moderator
a great deal of time.
When posting or replying to posts, make sure that you
stay on topic. If you're posting to a group that focuses
on "Ezines," you wouldn't want to post a question or
information about "Gardening." In addition, always be
very tactful. Everyone is there to learn and share information.
There is absolutely no reason to hurt someone's feeling
by publicly humiliating them or being rude. Keep in
mind, there is a human being with feelings behind each
post.
When posting to an announcement group, make sure you
follow the posting guidelines. Not only will this save
the list owner a great deal of time, but it will also
prevent you from having to repost your message when
it gets rejected.
In addition to following the guidelines, make sure
that you don't post your message more than once. Announcement
lists receive many submissions and only send out a certain
number of posts each day. It may take up to a week or
longer before your message is approved. Reposting only
serves to delay the process even longer.
Unsubscribing
In order to remove yourself or unsubscribe from an
ezine, discussion group or announcement list, you must
follow the instructions for each individual publication.
Some lists will provide a link that will instantly remove
your email address. Others will require you to send
an email message to remove yourself. However, you MUST
send the unsubscribe email message from the same address
you used to subscribe.
Many times, subscribers may use an email address that
redirects to their main email account. When they try
to remove themselves from a list, they can't remember
which address they used to subscribe. This causes them
to become frustrated and take their anger out on the
list owner. There is no way for a list owner to determine
what email address a subscriber used to subscribe to
the list. However, there is a way you can locate the
address yourself and save yourself and the list owner
a great deal of frustration.
If you're using Outlook: Under the "View" menu, select
"Message header" or "Source."
If you're using Eudora: Click on the "Bla bla" button.
By viewing the message headers, you can determine what
email address the message was sent to. This is the email
address you used to subscribe to the group. Your unsubscribe
message MUST come from this address in order to locate
it within the database.
SPAM
Professional list owners will NEVER add your email
address to their database without your knowledge. Most
of the time, if you're receiving their publication,
you subscribed and may have forgotten. Keep in mind,
the keyword is "Professional" list owners. There are
many list owners that use unethical means of obtaining
email addresses.
Before making a "SPAM" complaint, it is VERY important
that you understand the consequences. NEVER make a SPAM
complaint unless you are absolutely positive that it
is, in fact, SPAM. It is much better to delete one hundred
potential SPAM messages than to wrongly accuse one innocent
publisher of SPAM. What you probably don't realize is
that when you make a SPAM complaint about a publication,
your complaint also affects advertisers and article
writers that have no affiliation with the publication.
One SPAM complaint can cost an innocent publisher, advertiser
and writer their entire business. It's just not worth
it.
Advertising
Although many ezines will allow you to purchase advertising,
discussion groups, announcement lists and forums DO
NOT allow blatant advertising. This is considered SPAM
and will probably get you immediately removed. Most
groups will allow you to include your signature. Make
sure you review the guidelines prior to posting. If
we all work together and follow a few simple guidelines,
we can make the Internet a better place for us all.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2003. All Rights Reserved
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of several successful ebooks
including Web Design Mastery - An in-depth guide to
professional web design. Ebook Starter - A Complete
Ebook Design Kit, and eZines: A Complete Guide to Publishing
for Profit. Subscribe to Etips and receive a free copy
of her highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies." http://www.web-source.net
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