as a follow-up to the welcome message, it seems necessary to lay down some
list rules:

- it is a simple matter of courtesy to quote _just_ the parts of the email
  you are replying to, and to refer to them _after_ the quoted text.  
  (Yes, that means "do not top-post".)

  Otherwise, it will be hard to keep track of mail threads, and you will
  also force a lot of people to waste their time on reading things that
  are not relevant.

- again, as a simple matter of courtesy, _do_ reply-to-all (often referred
  to as "Cc: the OPs!").

  Remember, some of the members of this list get more than 200 mails per
  day. Some days, they are not able to read all of them, so they will have
  to prioritize -- guess which mails may get lost in the noise?  Exactly.

  Of course, if you are keen on your reply _not_ reaching the person you
  are responding to, by all means, do not Cc: that person.

- refrain from using profane language, or from sending mails that do not
  add value.  This is particularly true if you just want to spread bad
  feelings: don't.

  Of course, this does _not_ mean funny mails.  Lightening up the
  conversation does add value.  After all, most of the people doing all
  the work are here for fun.

Keep in mind: if you disagree with these simple rules, you only display a
lack of respect to the other members of the list.