List Etiquette

What is and is not acceptable on Flyfish@

This is the list for flyfishers the world over, currently over 1000 members. We are basically a large extended family, we talk together, get together and fish together and occasionally argue amongst ourselves, but the family part always comes through. There are only two firm rules on Flyfish.

THERE WILL BE NO FLAMES. Flamers are not tolerated and will be reprimanded sharply and quickly, courtesy and politeness are what we expect from each other and how we treat each other. Think before you post, ask yourself this question, "Would I say this to this person's face?", anonymity is no excuse for rudeness.

NO ADVERTISEMENTS. Individuals can offer for sale or trade personal items, no prices will be discussed on the list. No business can offer any item for sale. It is acceptable for anyone to mention his business in his sig, but it must be no more than would be on a business card.

Guidelines for posting and replying to messages

Try to keep messages at least marginally relevant to the list.
Do not forward "chain mail" to the list.
When replying to posts, please do not include all of the original message, only those lines relevant to your reply.
Think before replying to a post: is your response likely to be of interest to all 1000+ list members, or just to the individual who posted the original message?
Sign your messages with your e-mail address, so that others can respond directly to you if they wish.
Don't attach graphics or other files to mail messages. These are a nuiscance to those who can receive text only, and a problem to those who pay for access.
The conventional limit for sigfiles is 8 lines- try to keep your ascii masterpiece at at least close to this.

More general tips on Netiquette can be found at:
http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/netiquette.html

The list owners advice to newcomers

Newcomers should watch the list for a few days to get the flavor of the list. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join in the discussions, ask or answer questions. One of the reasons this list is considered one of the best on the net is the atmosphere of conviviality, what we call the virtual flyshop mentality. We talk, joke, write (mostly really bad) poetry, have a fiction contest and discuss every conceivable aspect of flyfishing. Mostly we have a good time.

No subject is really prohibited as long is it is handled with taste, remembering that this list is viewed by persons of both sexes and all ages so language should be appropriate.

If the list is not what you expected, give it some time, learn to love Flyfish for what it is, as have the rest of us, don't try to change it to what you think it ought to be. It has its own personality and resists change stoutly.

You will probably receive between 50 and 150 messages each day. If this would seem to be more than you can comfortably handle, you can change to the digest form. In digest mode, the server collects all messages for a 24 hour period and then posts one message to you at midnight each night. If your mailer won't allow you to read a large file, save the file to your hard disk as a text file and then read it with your word processor software.

Contributed by Dave Liverman and Danny Walls