From the Moderators...
Grahame
There is quiet a lot here so our apologies for the long email...
Underlying Google Group Rules
All Google Groups must adhere to rules of basic decency. The Google Content Policy is here
https://support.google.com/groups/answer/4561696?hl=en
You'll find nothing in there that will surprise you.
The language of the Group is English
Please realise that many members' mother language is not English. If you have problems phrasing what you want, then try and no doubt you will get help.
What is on-topic and what isn't?
Although the noble gas "neon" and the trade name "nixie" are in the group name, we are not just limited to devices that use neon or are nixies. Other gases, other types of gas discharge tube, vacuum devices, incandescent filaments, semiconductors and mechanical devices can all be on-topic (probably missed a technology or two here). What is on-topic tends to revolve around (but is not entirely limited to) clocks, counters, computing, display devices and examples of their use in DIY or professional equipment. Construction techniques and materials are all very useful to share here as well.
We are trying to be intentionally wide and vague. A question about the best feed for your tomatoes or hum in your audio amplifier are likely to be better posted elsewhere! But posts about removing scratches from/cleaning acrylic, or about DIY PCB making are likely to be on-topic.
Posting off-topic is not entirely discouraged. If you have something that you want to share then start the subject of the email with "Off Topic:" or just "OT:" please.
What about advertising?
A modest amount of on-topic advertising by established group members is allowed. In fact we would encourage members to sell items to other members ahead of using a market place website, e.g. eBay, "keeping things in the family" as it were.
Off-topic advertising (see tomato feed above), bulk or repeated advertising will be removed.
Posting links to on-topic items for sale, whether you have any affiliation to the seller or not, are acceptable.
Personal comments on a seller's performance must be considered
carefully. You must comply with the Google Content Policy as a
minimum, it is one thing to warn or advise but another to rant
about the one bad experience that you have had.
Politics
The group is apolitical meaning having no interest or involvement in political affairs, world or local.
When things go wrong
Occasionally, members have difficulty in posting or receiving posts from the group. Google have some blurb on the topic here:
https://support.google.com/groups/answer/70498
If you want to change what you receive,
then you should change your membership settings. The choices
of what you receive are
- Each email - Each message is delivered as it's posted
- Digest - Messages are sent in bundles of 25
- Abridge - Abridged messages are sent in bundles of up to 150, at least daily
- None - no emails sent
If you are failing to receive emails then 99% of the time it will be settings on your device that are blocking the messages. Google Groups now seems to be very stable and problems with it are now rare. Some email services are known to block Google Groups.
There are limitations on how frequently you can post, however Google don't actually seem to say what the limits are anywhere. There are limitations on the size of attachments. When you go looking, various numbers are offered from a few MB up to 25MB. There may be other limitations set by your email software or settings on your device that prevent posting attachments. When a member does have problems posting we now rarely find it is Google Groups. See also
https://support.google.com/groups/answer/70498#zippy=%2Ccant-post-messages
Moderation
Member's posting rights are normally set to fully allowed. The moderators can set a member's rights to "not allowed" and "moderated", this happens oh-so rarely. The moderators can also ban members from the group for infringement of these rules. Our banned list is currently empty, but that can change at any time. Moderators can also selectively delete inappropriate messages or conversations. It's extremely rare that we take action, however in all circumstances, the moderators' decision is final.
Hopefully you have found this summary useful (and on-topic).
Moderators, Nick, Nick and Grahame