Last updated on November 17, 2000

Please note that a majority of these below are standard netiquette items throughout the world. (I culled many of them from published Netiquette articles etc) They have been 'customized' for the Jewel mailing list where necessary. The main reason these exist is because well over 1900 people subscribe to Jewel@smoe & Jewel-digest, so every post you send would go to each of those people if the post gets approved. (The list is moderated and each submitted post is screened).

Basically, this Jewel Mailing List Do's & Don'ts page is here as a reminder that you are sending these posts to many people, so it pays off to consider what your post is about, who it is really intended for and what it includes from another persons post. Feel free to email me with any comments or suggestions.

Do join in the fun ~ Post away, but please take the time to read this page so that you can fit in quicker, make friends quicker and have the fun many of us enjoy with this list.

Don't quote an entire post ~ When quoting a post from another EDA, don't quote the entire post, especially a long one, unless it is absolutely necessary to make your point. Please edit out whatever is not needed. If you use an email system that does not allow editing when quoting, then please don't quote, or at least take extra measures to type in what you are quoting.

The server that is used to distribute this list also sends out a digest version, which is delivered to it's subscribers 1 to 3times a day, depending on the day's volume. These digests are also stored on the server for archive and reference reasons, and obviously take up space....all unnecessary quoting adds up, so saving space by quoting less saves storage space and $$$ for the list owner. Also, some list members archive the digests on their home systems, so this will save hard drive space for them too.

Do use the NJC acronym in the beginning of the SUBJECT of your post, if it is basically one with No Jewel Content. It's just an EDA courtesy to those on this list that may not have the time to wade through posts that don't deal with Jewel. (Some members even use email software like Eudora Pro or Pegasus to 'filter out' NJC)

By default, all posts to the list ideally are considered to have Jewel content unless otherwise specified, therefore it is not necessary to use the acronym JC in the subject if your post IS Jewel content in nature. Some folk have taken up the practice of using the acronym SJC for posts that have Some Jewel Content. Just use your best judgment to help others on this list to navigate the emails. Please note that since the list IS moderated, if a submitted post is deemed NJC or SJC and the appropriate acronym wass not used by the author of the post, the moderator he/she may insert NJC or SJC before sending it on.)

Oh, sheesh, before I forget, if you reply to a post that WAS Jewel Content in nature but your reply is in fact NJC, please add NJC to the subject in your reply.....and vice versa....if you reply to an NJC post and turn it into a Jewel content post, remove the "NJC" from the subject.

One final note on NJC. The acronym of NJC is not a free liscense to post anything to the list. Generally a post has to either deal with Jewel or her creations (music, poetry etc) in some manner, inquiries about her creations, the ever popular and common "EDA Gatherings", Living Room Tours (LRTs), similar artists the list has seemed to have _____, Steve Poltz news and well.....you'll get the feel for it if you just sit back and lurk for a while :-)

Don't post "one liners" to the list. If someone posts that they "just saw Jewel's new video on VH1" or "there's a really neat article & picture on Jewel in Teen magazine", please don't reply to the list with a "one liner" like "I saw it too, it's cool" etc. One liners really should be sent privately to the original author, unless of course you feel the list can benefit from the 'one liner'. (or you can just beef up your post to include commentary and your thoughts on the subject, which then adds substance to your post. After all, this is really a discussion list)

Don't post what should be a PRIVATE Email to the list.. Remember there are well over 1900 people subscribed to this list. Before you send a post to the list, try to think of how many of the 1900 might be interested in the post. If you think the answer may be "very few" or just one, PLEASE consider privately emailing those few or that one person.

Don't walk too close, don't breathe so soft, don't talk so sweet, don't sing, don't lay oh so near, please don't let me....ooops sorry! Sometimes I get carried away and start singing "Don't" when the word comes up. :) It won't happen again.

Don't post chain letters to the list. It's a no-no and nearly ALL of the chain letters we've seen are fake, including the one about the dying boy/girl who wants to live forever. It says that the American Cancer Society (ACS) will donate $x.xx for each person you send it to. OK....some logic here! :-) How would they possibly know how many people it was forwarded to? The only way they could is if every forwarded email ended back at the ACS inbox.

Trust me, most chain letters, especially those dealing with people who apparently are ill with a disease, are fakes. They are written and sent on by pranksters preying on the decency in the average person. Please resist the temptation to send them on to others. (If you are still tempted, read the chain letter carefully. Think about it all. Usually there's something in it that just don't hold water (like the ACS example above).

Don't auction off ANYTHING on the list or post about an auction. If you have a rare Jewel item you want to sell at your cost plus shipping, that is fine. However, auctioning off items (i.e. highest bidder/best offer) is heavily frowned upon by many of this lists' members and the list owner and may result in your being removed from the list for repeated postings. Thus, this policy also prohibits the posting of items on Ebay and/or other online auction site and it prohibits the posting of any auctions or messages about auctions no matter the cause. The ONLY exception is when the actual Jewel management is holding their own auction.

Don't post asking for donations for any causes, or raising money for an event/fund raiser etc you may be partaking in. At times there ARE such things on the list, but they are always either run in conjunction with Jewel management support, the EDAF or a group of list subscribers who have proven their authenticity in the past. This policy is here basically to protect the subscribers from any fraudulent happenings. The list HAS been swindled a few times in the past, so to virtually eliminate any re-occurrences this policy has to be in effect. 

Do use emoticons (aka smileys) in your Emails to the list whenever possible/necessary. One of the ongoing problems on this list is misunderstandings of an Email authors' intent. One of my sayings when it come to posting to the list is "If anything in an Email CAN be taken the wrong way, with over 1600 people reading it, it WILL BE taken the wrong way". One way to possibly avoid this is to re-read your Email carefully before posting it. Another way is using emoticons/smileys. Here are some common smileys.

Do , try to use majordomo at first to try to find a list members email address before posting to the list asking someone for it. It's quite easy, all ya gotta do is go to my Majordomo-School right here, and you don't even need paper, a pencil nor an apple for the teacher

Don't advertise your business or anyone else's' on the list.

Don't post any HTML on the list. Most of the subscribers to this (and any) mailing list have email systems that won't accept HTML. Any emails with HTML in it will bounce back to the list owner causing him a lot of work, a major headache and you don't want to see him with a headache.

Don't use an unnecessarily long signature file at the end of your posts to the list. If you have a long one that carries a lot of personal info that you DO want to convey to the other EDAs, by all means occasionally include it in your post, but consider editing it out of some of your posts, especially when posting frequently (another space/$$$ saving caveat) Also, here's something smoe.org owner Jeff Wasilko posted on this topic.

Do include as much information as possible when posting about a new found piece of information about Jewel on the web, an article in a magazine just out or information about a concert etc.

• When posting about a picture and article on a website, like Time Online, please post the Web address (URL) so that other members won't have to struggle to find it.
• When posting about an article in a magazine, please post the issue date, who's on the cover and the page the article is on.
• When posting about a new Promo CD, import CD single or soundtrack (etc), if possible please include the Stock Number, label etc.
• When posting about a newly announced concert, give out ALL the information you have. (i.e. It don't do much good to announce that "KROW-FM radio just announced an appearance by Jewel at their radio fest, Tix go on sale Monday at TicketMonster" without mentioning the city....that happens alot :)

Do watch what you are doing when you reply to a post from Jewel-News. If you hit "Reply All", please edit out jewel-news@smoe.org from your To: or CC: message headers. Your reply, in all likelihood should NOT be going to Jewel-News. I've been told by the Jewel-News moderators that way too many folk have been sending replies to Jewel-News.