LugsMailingListFaq

1. How do I subscribe/unsubscribe to/from the Mailing List?
2. How do I join a discussion?
3. What is on topic for the list?
4. What is off topic for the list?
5. Why are posts from non list members moderated ?
6. Why is there no Reply-to header?
7. What posting style should I use?

1. How do I subscribe/unsubscribe to/from the Mailing List?

• You can subscribe or unsubscribe through the web interface here:

  • http://www.lugs.org.sg/mailman/listinfo/slugnet

• or send email to:

  • slugnet-subscribe at lugs dot org dot sg

  • slugnet-unsubscribe at lugs dot org dot sg

2. How do I join a discussion?

Please go ahead and just join in. If you have a question to ask regarding Linux or Open Source or are new to the Open Source scene in Singapore, then please go ahead and introduce yourself.

3. What is on topic for the list?

• Anything to do with Linux or Open Source software, hardware, Internet, or general open source issues.

• Singapore related open source topics are of special relevance.

• Questions or suggestions about getting online in Singapore and which Internet providers are the most Linux friendly.

• If you are working with Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Ruby, Python, (... any other open source software here ...), then please consider this a good place to talk to others who are working in the same area as you in Singapore.

• Information regarding upcoming events or seminars that related to linux or open source.

• Job postings that are open source related i.e. Linux/Unix engineers working with Apache and MySQL is okay - use your best judgment.

4. What is off topic for the list?

• Blatantly commercial postings regarding proprietary software or services.

• Job postings that are not relevant to the Linux and Open Source community.

5. Why are posts from non list members moderated ?

List postings are moderated for non list members to reduce spam.

Please don't be afraid to go ahead and just post to the list even if you are a not a list member. It might take a while for your first post to go through to the list but you will then be added to the accept filter for successive postings. If you want to become a volunteer moderator, then please send email to slugnet-owner at lugs dot org dot sg with the subject "LUGS volunteer moderator".

6. Why is there no Reply-to header?

The LUGS mailing list currently requires you to hit "Reply to all" on mails intended for the list. For those interested in a rationale - there are two broad schools of thought on Mailing List reply semantics - whether the list should set the "Reply-to" header or not.

1. The historical list netiquette (the policy used on slugnet), gnu mailman default and recommended method is to not set the Reply-To header. Posters should click "Reply to All" to keep other posters on the thread in the discussion as they may not be subscribers - or subscribers may have procmail or sieve rules to handle mail To'd or Cc'd to them differently (e.g. some people have threads that they're involved in the To or Cc headers filed into a different folder to the general list traffic). This approach makes it easier to reply back to the poster if you so wish (without copying and pasting their address). Lists with this reply policy include the linux-kernel mailing list, all of the debian lists, and most other long standing open source projects...

2. The alternative netiquette is for the list to set the Reply-To header so that replies always go to the list. This is supposed to make sure that discussion is kept on list (and also makes sure posts from newbies who forget to hit "Reply-to-All" make it to the list). Many find this policy quite restricting as whether you click "Reply" or "Reply-to-All", you can't get it to reply to the original poster (2) - only the list - so you need to copy and paste the email address if you wish to post only to the sender. This policy is used by lists that have a lot of subscribers who are not aware of the historical practices of Internet mailing lists and are unaware of the rational behind doing it the right way™

7. What posting style should I use?

The preferred styles on the LUGS mailing list are:

• interleaved posting — inline comments interspersed between hunks of quoted text that are typically "trimmed" leaving only the relevant quoted material.

• bottom-posting — replying below;

Top posting is discouraged. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-posting for more information.