Welcome to For Group Managers!

Whether you own or moderate groups at Google, Yahoo, Msn or any other host, here's where to talk about group administration. Share information, ask and offer help with problems, discuss ideas, make suggestions, compare mailing list hosting services and just about anything else.

Off-topic chit-chat also welcome!

If you have your membership set to receive individual emails but suspect you are not receiving posts, it's still very likely your message did get posted and is in the group archive. You may check messages on the web at this home page, just click on the "Messages" or "Discussions" link.

. This can happen for no apparent reason, especially if you are receiving email from elsewhere, showing the problem is not at your end. There are so many different servers and links that relay email over the internet that it's possible one of them between your isp and the mailing list host isn't working temporarily. Sometimes there is a problem with the mailing list host servers, but they're usually very short-lived. So if you check the messages on the web and find your post actually did not get through and make it into the archive, the best thing is to try again a little later.

List rules:

1. No trolling/flaming or bullying, on or off this group. Flaming or otherwise unwanted private emails are not to be given the same consideration as other private emails, so if someone is getting harassed by another member, and posts the offending email to the list, no one is to chastise the harassee for it. The rule about keeping private email private applies only to friendly emails. There is a difference between a whiner and someone who is being harassed via email, especially if someone can prove the latter. So, for anybody thinking they can get away with sending offensive, unwanted, private email to their fellow members or the list moderator/owner(s), think again. Any attempts at troublemaking and bullying will be put down as quickly as possible, and the troublemaker has no claim to privacy by whining to a list mod after being kicked off the list.

2. No spamming.

3. No complaining about the amount of postings.

4. No complaining about "off-topic" posts. This list recognizes there is more than one subject to its members, and nothing kills the fun of a good conversation faster than someone whining about its direction or "off-topic".

5. Except in extremely limited and special situations, no pontificating about so-called "copyright" "email being the intellectual property of the sender" "netiquette violations." etc. This ends up protecting email abusers more than it does people who just want to enjoy being online and mind their own business. If someone forwards an email to this list they got from someone flaming them, or if they forwarded something they saw a fellow member posting elsewhere that is of interest or that should be exposed, it is everyone's right to know who the troublemakers are so they can't get away with it here. If you scold someone for exposing a bully, you will be kicked out as a defender of the flamer/bully/troll. Also, carrying on about so-called "copyright" violations when it comes to things like moving group content from one server to another, or putting midi music on a web page, or even trimming group archives is taking things way too far and does nothing but hamper any further discussion and discourage people from speaking up with ideas for their groups or other internet activities. So copyright is one subject that is expressly disallowed here unless the "violator" is a troll, flamer, hoaxter, scammer, you get the idea.

6. No chain mail fwds of any stripe - and if you're not familiar with the signs of chain email or are relatively new to the internet, chances are you have or will receive and pass it on. You'd be surprised to find out how many different forms chain letters take.

Non-chainmail forwards are definitely allowed. They would be personal emails you wrote to someone and decided to post here, emails you know your friend/relation or fellow list member from another list actually wrote, a personal picture such as one your family has of a new baby that you want to share, or sound file you got from someone and like, etc. Recipes and stationery you got from other email lists are welcome, these personally printed out and written emails are not chain mail. Joke fwds, glurges, Anything that tells or compells you to "pass it on" is. Please see http://www.snopes.com http://www.breakthechain.org and http://www.truthorfiction.com for more information about chain email forwards.

7. No posting offensive or inappropriate material. This includes any or all of the above plus rude behavior anyone with common sense would recognize as such.

8. Rules are rules. They are not a subject up for debate. If you start whining about the rules, you will be removed.