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MEL-L FAQ

1 ) What is MEL-L and what is it's purpose?

MEL-L, the melanoma mail list, is an unmoderated e-mail discussion group for patients, their loved ones, caregivers, physicians and researchers of the disease, melanoma. It's purpose is to provide a forum for the exchange of information and support for it's members.

Disclaimer

MEL-L is a forum for educational and support purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through MEL-L should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. We do not guarantee the accuracy of this information. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.

The listowner and subscribers, including those subscribers who are health care professionals cannot be held responsible for the contents of MEL-L messages.

2 ) What is LISTSERV?

LISTSERV is the subscription server, through which all commands are sent to set or change mail options and to get Help, Info, Indexes or digests. It is not for sending messages to the list.

3 ) How does one become a member (user) of MEL-L?

One must subscribe to the list. Send an e-mail to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU

Leave the subject box blank or type a space or - in it

Type one line in the message area as follows:

subscribe MEL-L FirstName LastName

Use your actual first and last name. Then send it.

4 ) Then what happens?

You will soon receive a "Subscription Confirmation" e-mail message from MELSUB. You MUST reply this message to confirm your subscription. Do not add anything to the message, just reply to it with your e-mailer. If you do not do this you will not be subscribed. Following your reply, you will be subscribed and you will receive an acknowledgement that you are subscribed. This ackknoledgement will include instructions for posting to the list and other information. You should save this acknowledgement for future reference.

5 ) What commands to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU are available to the subscriber?

By sending to MELSUB@mwt.net the subscriber can alter his mail options, get help or get digests by "commands". The currently accepted commands are the following and all must appearin the *BODY* of the message. You can send multiple commands, each in one line finishing with END.

SUBSCRIBE MEL-L Your_FirstName Your_LastName
Subscribes you to the list called MEL-L.

SIGNOFF MEL-L
Unsubscribes you from the list called MEL-L

For example; you have already sent an INDEX command and a list of digests have been returned to you. You want to get the MEL-L-digest-366. You then send a command to MELSUB@mwt.net to

GET MEL-L MEL-L-digest-366
Remember the first MEL-L is the list_name and MEL-L-digest-366 is the file name.

SET MEL-L OPTION
Set your subscription parameters to OPTION

Currently available options are:
(default options are indicated).

NOMAIL : Suspends your subscription until the next

DIGEST : Sends digests rather than individual messages

MAIL : Sends you individual messages. [Default].

6 ) When posting a message to the list, what rules of etiquette should I keep in mind?

When you subscribe a message of confirmation along with posting instructions is sent. Some "rules of etiquette" are included in that message. Following is the MEL-L Netiquette which you should try to follow as well. Violations of etiquette which will get you unsubscribed from the list are marked with "*" and are in red text.

MEL-L NETIQUETTE

• Some mailing lists have low rates of traffic, others can flood your mailbox with several hundred mail messages per day. Numerous incoming messages from various listservers or mailing lists by multiple users, requires extensive system processing which can tie up valuable resources. Subscription to Interest Groups or Discussion Lists should be kept to a minimum and should not exceed what your disk quota can handle, or you for that matter. MEL-L averages about 44 messages per day.

• When you join MEL-L, you may want to monitor the messages for a few days to get a feel for what common questions are asked, and what topics are deemed off-limits. This is commonly referred to as lurking. When you feel comfortable with the group, then start posting. If you are urgently seeking information, by all means, post your message at once.

• * Commercial messages are not wanted. If you have joined this list to peddle your wares stop right now and unsubscribe. The first message you post that spams this list will get you nothing but bad will and you will be immediately deleted from the list.

• This is the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for the group that you are interested in joining. Veteran members get annoyed when they see the same questions every few weeks. Check here first for answer before asking the list.

• Follow this and all guidelines that the listowner has posted; the listowner establishes the local "netiquette" standards for this list.

• Keep in mind that this list has members from many countries. Don't assume that they will understand a reference to TV, movies, pop culture, or current events in your country. If you must use the reference, please explain it. Don't assume that they understand geographical references that are local or national.

• * Don't join a list just to post inflammatory messages - this upsets most system administrators and you could lose access to the net ("mail bombing").

• In general, keep your questions and comments relevant to the focus of the discussion group. MEL-L is quite flexible on this point, however. If a non-topic thread continues for very long many members will become annoyed.

• If another person posts a comment or question that is off the subject, do NOT reply to the list and keep the off- subject conversation going publicly. Is your message non-topic and intended for one or a few members of the list? If so send that message privately. If you send it to the list others will consider it as idle chatter.

• When someone posts an off-subject note, and someone else criticizes that posting, you should NOT submit a gratuitous note saying "well, I liked it and lots of people probably did as well and you guys ought to lighten up and not tell us to stick to the subject".

• When going away for more than a week, unsubscribe or suspend mail from any mailing lists or LISTSERV services. If your mailbox gets full and messages are returned undelivered, you will be deleted from the list and will have to resubscribe.

• If you can respond to someone else's question, do so through private e-mail. Twenty people answering the same question on a large list can fill your mailbox (and those of everyone else on the list) quickly.

• EDIT YOUR REPLIES. There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- more frustrating to users of mail lists than people who include 200 lines from a previous message, and tack on a two or three line reply to it. It's an amazing waste of bandwidth and list-goodwill, and lazy to boot. If you include text in your replies to the list, edit out all of those pieces that aren't needed in the reply.

• There is a real easy way to send a message to the list. That is to hit the "Reply to" button and you won't have to take the few seconds to type in the address. DON'T DO IT unless you are actually replying to a message. Why? Because you probably won't take the time to change the topic in the Subject box either. This is another very frustrating thing to deal with for members. Take the few seconds to type in the topic of your message. Another good thing if your message is not concerned with melanoma, is to state in your Subject box "-Not Melanoma" or "humor" for instance. Digest users should remember when replying from the digest to change the topic in the Subject box. If you don't your message will come in with the subject Re: Digest #234565432 and will give the reader no idea what your messge is about until he reads it. Maybe he doesn't want to read it. He could have deleted the message if you had taken the time to put the topic of your message in the subject box.

• Use discretion when forwarding a long mail message to group addresses or distribution lists.It's preferable to reference the source of a document and provide instructions on how to obtaina copy. If you must post a long message, warn the readers with a statement at the top of the mail message. Example: WARNING: LONG MESSAGE

• If you crosspost messages to multiple groups, include the name of the groups at the top of the mail message with an apology for any duplication.

• Do NOT use the list to request donations or memorials.

• Resist the temptation to "flame" others on the list. Remember that these discussions are"public" and meant for constructive exchanges. Treat the others on the list as you would want them to treat you. * RUDENESS in your message may get you unsubscribed as stated in your subscription confirmation.

• When posting a question to the discussion group, request that responses be directed to you personally. Post a summary or answer to your question to the group.

• When replying to a message posted to a discussion group, check the address to be certain it's going to the intended location (person or group). It can be very embarrassing if they reply incorrectly and post a personal message to the entire discussion group that was intended for an individual.

• When signing up for a group it is important to save your subscription confirmation letter for reference. That way if you go on vacation you will have the subscription address forsuspending mail.

• Occasionally subscribers to the list who are not familiar with proper netiquette will submitrequests to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE directly to the list itself. Be tolerant of this activity, and possibly provide some useful advice as opposed to being critical.

• Other people on the list are not interested in your desire to be added or deleted. Any requests regarding administrative tasks such as being added or removed from a list should be made to the appropriate listowner, not the list itself. Mail for these types of requests should be sent to thefollowing respectively:
  listowner

7 ) I want to post to someone on the list privately and I don't have their e-mail address. Since the review command is not available how do I get it?

The REVIEW command is unavailable for privacy reasons. To get someones e-mail address post your request to the List Owner at ctustis@mwt.net, who in turn will e-mail the individual you want to post to and make the request. If permission is granted by that individual he or the List Owner will contact you.

If you have any questions you may contact the listowner