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Please, DO NOT DELETE THIS MESSAGE! Save it as a text file, keep it in your
mailbox, print it and file it, or save it any other way you like.
But please hang on to it. It contains unsubscribing and other information you'll
need later. Thank you.
If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list, send the following
command in the body of an email to wi-pagan-request@paganpaths.org
unsubscribe
Or you can send mail to Majordomo@paganpaths.org
with the following command in the body of your email message:
unsubscribe wi-pagan
or from another account, besides anaccount@example.org:
unsubscribe wi-pagan anaccount@example.org
If you want to switch your subscription from the Main list to the digest version, you can do it with one email. Send the message to Majordomo@paganpaths.org and put these lines in the message body:
unsubscribe wi-pagan anaccount@example.org
subscribe wi-pagan-digest anaccount@example.org
end
If you want to unsubscribe from Digest and subscribe to the main, use these lines:
unsubscribe wi-pagan-digest anaccount@example.org
subscribe wi-pagan anaccount@example.org
end
If you ever need to get in contact with the owner of the list, (if you have
trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list itself) send email to
owner-wi-pagan@paganpaths.org.
This is the general rule for most mailing lists when you need to contact a human.
You have joined a place, a reality that we create together, shaped by friends
of many beliefs. A few of us have lived here recently or are planning on moving
to Wisconsin, but by and large, everyone on this list lives within the borders
of the state of Wisconsin. And we're all very happy to have one more. We bid
you welcome.
Through our interactions and connections we create community. Our membership
spans a wide range of age and experience (both in belief systems and all things
web and Internet). Teens, elders, covensteads, solitaries, students, women,
men, families; whatever our gods or goddesses, here all have a place to speak
and listen without fear.
Diversity is both a strength and a challenge. As of May 18th, 1999, our membership
numbers about 130 souls. With that many people, and the aforementioned differences
in ages and experience, a few practices and unwritten rules have evolved which
make things easier for all of us. We now proceed to make them written guidelines
instead of unwritten rules.
Revised March 19, 2001
CONTACT INFO
The WI-Pagan list comes in two versions: the regular version where each post is sent as an individual message, and the digest version where posts are bundled together and sent as one long message.
* To post messages to the list, send to: wi-pagan@paganpaths.org
* To subscribe to the regular version Put the following command in the body of your email: subscribe wi-pagan
And send your email to: wi-pagan-request@paganpaths.org
* To unsubscribe from the regular version Put the following command in the body of your email: unsubscribe wi-pagan
And send your email to: wi-pagan-request@paganpaths.org
*To subscribe or unsubscribe from an account that is not the account that you want to subscribe or unsubscribe from Follow the above directions but after the name of the list put the the actual address that you have been using or will be using for the list.
unsubscribe wi-pagan account@example.org
* To subscribe to the digest version of the list, Put the following command in the body of your email: subscribe wi-pagan-digest
and send your message to: wi-pagan-digest-request@paganpaths.org
* To unsubscribe from the digest version of the list, Put the following command in the body of your email: unsubscribe wi-pagan-digest
and send your message to: wi-pagan-digest-request@paganpaths.org
* If you ever need to get in contact with the managers of the list (if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list itself), send email to: owner-wi-pagan@paganpaths.org.
This is the general rule for most mailing lists when you need to contact a human.
* The Official WIP Website is at http://www.spiritpathways.com/wiplist.html
One thing to remember above all: YOU ARE PROBABLY GOING TO MEET MANY OF THESE LIST MEMBERS, FACE TO FACE, SOMETIME, SOMEWHERE. These are not faceless people in some unknown part of the world. They are separated from you by a few hundred miles at most, perhaps even across town. The relationship you create with them here will affect your relationship with them when you bump into each other at the next gathering you attend. Please try to keep this in mind when you're having a bad day, and when you read a post that could have been sent by someone else who's having an even worse day. The Universe has an odd sense of humor sometimes.
You have joined a place, a reality that we create together, shaped by friends of many beliefs. A few of us have lived here recently or are planning on moving to Wisconsin, but by and large, everyone on this list lives within the borders of the state of Wisconsin. And we're all very happy to have one more. We bid you welcome.
Through our interactions and connections we create community. Our membership spans a wide range of age and experience (both in belief systems and all things web and Internet). Teens, elders, covensteads, solitaries, students, women, men, families; whatever our gods or goddesses, here all have a place to speak and listen without fear. Diversity is both a strength and a challenge. As of March 4th, 2001, our membership numbers about 165 souls. With that many people, and the aforementioned differences in ages and experience, a few guidelines have evolved which make things easier for all of us.
The following are the official rules of this email list. They are intended to allow the maximum amount of freedom to the list members, while still protecting their privacy and minimizing extremely rude behavior.
When someone violates a rule that person will be sent an off list warning stating which rule was violated. If the person continues to break the rule a public warning will be issued. If the person continues to violate the list rules they will be suspended for 1 week. This means they will not be allowed to post to the list for that amount of time but will continue to receive the list. If they break the rule again they will be suspended for 1 month. Continued rule breaking after being suspended will probably lead to expulsion from the list. This will be considered on a case by case basis.
If you object to any of these rules, feel free to notify the list managers of your disapproval (contact information is given above), but unless it's found that a large majority of other list members disagree with the rules as well, they're unlikely to be changed.
1. Do not flame other list members (flaming is the act of posting excessively rude and insulting messages).
Diversity in opinion and ideas is encouraged so when you disagree with someone don't use name calling, intimidation, implied aggression or threats. Disagreement with an idea someone has posted is acceptable; name-calling or insults as part of your disagreement is not. If you have to explain a remark with "it's a joke", perhaps it could have been written a little more clearly.
If something makes you angry, THINK about what you're saying before you post your message. Read it carefully to make sure you're saying exactly what you want to say. Then LEAVE IT for a few hours and read it again. Others may not have the background in this subject that you do, and still others will barely raise an eyebrow over what you consider a grievous offense. This is in the nature of two-leggeds.
Realize that the angry, righteous message you are sending to an adult who should know better might *actually* be going to a shy 16 year old, reading her post and blinking back tears, thinking that it wasn't what she was trying to say at all and who is already working on an apology. Due to time lags caused by various Internet vagaries, the apology may have already been sent. Your public message could be thing that drives her off the list - hurt, shamed, angry and alone, despite all efforts to smooth things over. This has already happened to us. Is that the effect you want? More to the point: Is that the reality you want to help create?
Remember that what you send out returns to you, some believe three times over. On a practical level, anger tends to get anger in return. On a spiritual level, words are powerful magick and should be invoked carefully and with all due respect.
2. Do not forward list messages to people who aren't on the list or private messages to the list without permission from the author of the message.
This is technically a legal matter. International and US law states that private email is automatically copyrighted by the author. It is also social, in that most people expect their private email to stay private, no matter what they say. If you receive an email you want to talk about (If someone on this list sends you a hateful email privately, we'd certainly like to know about it!), there are established conventions.
It is permissible to: Post a message saying that you have received it, PARAPHRASE (put into your own words) what was said, and offer to send it privately to an individual if requested. It is legal and acceptable to send private email, privately, to specific people. (That is also something to remember when you send private email. It is difficult to say "I didn't say that!" when the message is right there, verbatim.)
3. Do not send "chain-letters" (Anything that says you MUST pass it on or specifies "penalties" if you do not, counts).
4. Do not send petitions with signatures.
Most of these have been circulating the 'net for a long time and are no longer valid. They also don't do much good because there is no way to verify the signatures so political figures and organizations just trash them. If you are really interested in helping out, then take a little time to do a web search for organizational sites that are working on the particular cause and just post the URL with a brief message explaining what it is.
5. Do not deliberately send any emails with attached files (pictures, sounds, programs, etc) to the list.
If you want to make files available to the list members, uploading them to a web page and posting the URL is recommended. If you don't have a web page, send the file to the list managers and ask them to make it available.
6. Don't post rumors about illegal behavior. It can land you in court.
NEVER post a message that accuses a person or group of illegal activity, whether they are substantiated or not. If you are worried about someone, seek help from law enforcement officials, social agencies, and/or privately email specific list members, asking where to go and what to do.
If you post a message that names someone specifically, and you even IMPLY that they MIGHT be doing something illegal, that person (or even someone who happens to have the same name) has enough legal ammunition to sue you, perhaps shut down this mailing list, and generally cause a great deal of harm. Even if your email doesn't mention your real name, when the law is involved (if you have not taken several complicated steps to cover your tracks - in other words, if you haven't behaved like an experienced internet criminal) you can always be tracked down. If you must post a message to the list, DO NOT NAME NAMES! Ask us for private help, and we will respond.
If you see a message that fits this description on the list, DO NOT FORWARD IT TO ANYONE! If you quote it, LEAVE OUT THE NAMES! Quoting a message is exactly the same as posting the original.
If you feel you must check out the story, remember two things:
Like every group, this list has a variety of social customs, or "unwritten rules" as they're sometimes called. While they are not enforced in the same way that rules are, it's best for new subscribers to be aware of these to avoid unintentionally offending anyone (or everyone). If you don't choose to abide by many of these customs you won't be warned and kicked off. But should you irritate enough people because of it and they complain about your behavior then the list managers will have to consider whether it is disruptive enough to the list for action to be taken. If you are new to email lists you might want to read "A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email" <http://www.webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html>
If at all possible, send all messages as plain text (not HTML or other formats). If you're not sure how to do this in your mailer, contact the list managers with the name and version of your mail program for help.
People on this list like to know who's out there, and would appreciate it if you'd post an introduction and short bio soon after subscribing. Even if you intend to mainly lurk, it's preferred that you drop at least a brief note every now and again so people know that you're out there.
Please sign every message you send; some list members don't get the "From:" field due to faulty mail servers, and this makes it easier for them to tell who messages are from.
Generally, sending "e-parachuting cows," "e-snowballs," or anything else of that ilk is highly frowned upon. For those of you who may never have gotten an e-snowball this is referring to ASCI art where images are created by using characters to create a shape. It is usually a very lengthy email. Sending the URL's for e-postcards or other such art is acceptable.
If you don't like any of the topics being discussed, please post a message regarding a topic you're interested in rather than complaining about the lack of interesting conversation. Generally people will have plenty to say on any topic you bring up. While topics are not being defined keep in mind that it is a Wisconsin Pagan list. We share location and some common interests but we won't always agree. When disagreeing with an idea, do it nicely (see rule #1 on flaming). A joke inside a disagreement may be misconstrued.
Please try not to post a lot of one-line messages. If you wish to agree/disagree
with someone, let the list know a bit about your reasons or provide more
information--this encourages discussion. If you feel the need to send several
one-line responses, please try to combine them into one email message.
This does not apply to one-line responses to energy or healing requests.
If someone asks for energy letting them know you are doing so lets them
know that their request for help is being answered. It also can be part
of the magick to publicly state the intention that energy be sent to them.
However, to eliminate the annoyance to others change the subject heading
in your reply. In all caps put a subject heading of ENERGY SENT or something
equally obvious. This allows others to easily delete them without opening
them while still letting others know that energy is going out to help.
This also applies to humor posts. Put a subject heading of HUMOR on the
post so those who don't want to spend the time with it will know to delete
it.
Trim the quoted text from previous messages as much as possible. Both the people who have to pay for each minute they are on the internet and the folks receiving the digested version of the list will thank you. Besides, if you add your text to a long previous message, some folks may not get around to reading what you wrote.
Make use of the subject line so that other list members know what is being discussed in a message. Change the subject line as the discussion changes.
We're here to have fun, meet like-minded people, and hopefully learn something along the way; please try not to assume the worst of people or take anything too personally. Remember that we only have text to go on here, and we often accidentally read intention into people's words that wasn't there. People often have differing opinions, and as long as they don't try to tell others that they should think the same way they do, they have every right to disagree.
Blessed Be,
The List Managers: Dan (dan@spiritpathways.com),
and Kyril (oakwind@chorus.net)
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