TSP-Share Suggested Etiquette
On This Site
OVERRIDING GOAL: The tsp-share mailing list shares information with members of the UC Davis technical community. All members of the list are welcome to post messages, and should be made to feel that way by other members. None of the suggestions below should infringe on this ideal.
TOPICS: Any information relating to technical matters including questions, problems, alerts, best practices, UC job announcements, opinions, etc., is welcome. There are a number of resources you may wish to consult before posting to the tsp-share mailing list - see "RESOURCES YOU MAY WANT TO CHECK..." section below.
AUDIENCE: As with anything you write, it's a good idea to be conscious of your audience. Although the tsp-share mailing list is a closed list, it includes people other than TSCs including members of IT management. In addition, e-mail can be easily forwarded.
SUBJECT LINES: Using succinct, descriptive subject lines will allow recipients to make an informed decision as to whether to respond to your message in the midst of the many messages TSP members receive each day. We suggest using the following prefixes in subject lines of messages sent to the list:
Suggested Prefixes:- ALERT = Urgent, time-sensitive advisory such as those relating to viruses, security, and/or network problems.
- FYI = Non-urgent information.
- CONFERENCE = Conference or seminar.
- QUESTION = Need assistance. Please specify nature of assistance needed in subject line.
- ANSWER = Synopsis of all answers received in response to a posted question---highlighting the response that answered the question.
- OPINION = General thoughts, expressions concerning a particular topic.
- VISTA = Windows Vista
- WIN7 = Windows 7
- CHROME = Google’s Chrome
- MAC = Macintosh
- UNIX = Unix
- LINUX = Linux
RESPOND TO INDIVIDUAL OR LIST: There are two trains of thought regarding this question. ONE: Some members like to have responses posted to the list (receive the individual messages in response to a posting) because 1) they know the posting has been answered and/or 2) they can learn from the answers posted. TWO: Some members prefer that a member post a question, have responses sent directly to the poster, then the poster summarizes the answers and posts the compiled information back to the list. A benefit of option two is that mailing list traffic is reduced. A detriment of option two is that knowledge isn't shared (or captured in the archives) if the poster doesn't follow-up with the combined responses message to the mailing list.
Suffice it to say if you want to reduce traffic on the mailing list and are willing to post a summary of responses, please note that information in your original message (and please be sure to post the follow-up summary message). For example, in your "QUESTION:LINUX Web Server" message you could say, "Please respond to me only, and I will post the summary of the answers once I have received them." Otherwise, having several members post a response to the mailing list is preferable to not capturing the information at all. An added benefit would be to have summary postings of answers regardless of whether the responses are sent only to the poster or to the mailing list (see ANSWER prefix above). So in the subject line you could say, "ANSWER: LINUX Web Server" and then include a summary of all the answers you received to your question---highlighting the one(s) that answered your specific need.
OUT OF OFFICE MESSAGES: Many e-mail systems provide a means to configure a message notifying message senders that you are out of the office, on vacation, etc. Although this information can be important to your colleagues on campus, it is generally not useful to those posting information to mailing lists. It is considered good form to either suspend your mailing list subscriptions or configure your "out of office" message so that it doesn't respond to mailing lists.
Postponing/Resuming Messages From a List
Postponing will not actually delay
messages and then send them to you once you resume. Any messages sent during the time you are
postponed will not be sent to you. The benefit of postponing in contrast to unsubscribing
is that you do not need to obtain the list-owner's approval to rejoin the list.
If you wish to postpone, send this command to listproc@ucdavis.edu:
set tsp-share mail postpone
Do not include a subject line, a salutation, a signature or styled text (set your email client to "plain text") since these cause errors. To resume, simply change modes. Send listproc@ucdavis.edu this command:
set tsp-share mail ack
RESOURCES YOU MAY WANT TO CHECK PRIOR TO POSTING:
- TSP Support Resources
- Listproc Mailing List Archives Part 1 (open lists)
- Listproc Mailing List Archives Part 2 (requires Kerberos password)
- TSP Special Interest Groups
- Topic-Specific Mailing Lists: These mailing lists require subscription. To subscribe, send
this command to listproc@ucdavis.edu:
subscribe (list name) (your first name) (your last name)
substituting the name of the list and your name in the appropriate places.- Windows = windows-admins@ucdavis.edu
- Exchange = exchange-admins@ucdavis.edu
- Web Development = web-development@ucdavis.edu
- OpenBSD = openbsd@ucdavis.edu
- Linux = linux@ucdavis.edu
- UNIX System Manager's Discussion List = unix-admins@ucdavis.edu
- Mac OSX = macosx@ucdavis.edu
- IT Administration (for administrators of mixed environments) = it-admin@ucdavis.edu (note: NOT it-admins!)
- Mobile Devices (Blackberry, Treo, smart phones, etc = mobiledevices@ucdavis.edu (note: reps from major telecomm vendors are subscribed)