I revised the BEE-L WELCOME file which I had anticipated would have been
sent to those CONFIRMing their BEE-L subscriptions. Unfortunately the
file is only send to new subscribers. For the benefit of all
subscribers I am posting the BEE-L WELCOME file here. I hope everyone
will read it in its entirity.
Sincerely,
Aaron Morris
Welcome to BEE-L, which is perhaps the oldest, continuously
running LISTSERV discussion list dealing with the "Informed
Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology". Prior to
participating on BEE-L, subscribers are encouraged to become
familiar with the tools that support this LISTSERV list as
well as being aware of the guidelines for making submissions
to the list. Please read this entire document before jump-
ing into the fray! Consider saving this document for future
review. And again, welcome to BEE-L!
First and foremost, BEE-L is a LISTSERV list. LISTSERV is a
software package written to support many different dis-
cussion lists, only one of which is BEE-L. It is imperative
that subscribers understand the difference between LISTSERV
and BEE-L - LISTSERV is the provider of services to list us-
ers. Requests for list services must be sent to LISTSERV.
A summary of LISTSERV user commands is available and can be
retrieved by sending a single line of mail to:
[log in to unmask]
that reads:
GET LISTSERV REFCARD
LISTSERV will return a short (less than 300 lines) summary
of commands sufficient for most users. Subscribers are en-
couraged to get, read and keep LISTSERV REFCARD
Distinct from service requests of LISTSERV are submissions
of discussion to the list. Submissions of discussion,
called posts, are sent as mail addressed to:
[log in to unmask]
BEE-L is a moderated list, meaning that ALL submissions to
the list are first sent to the list moderators for review
and approval prior to distribution to subscribers. To as-
sist with "round the clock, spanning the globe coverage",
the four BEE-L moderators reside in three countries on two
continents. Any one of the BEE-L moderators may approve a
submission, whereas for a submission to be denied general
distribution, ALL moderators must withhold their approval.
Very little communication takes place between the list mod-
erators regarding individual submissions, for the most part
"votes" are cast silently. If a moderator cares not to ap-
prove a submission he or she simply withholds approval. It
only takes one approval for a submission to be distributed,
whereas it must be a unanimous decision for a submission to
be denied.
Provided that the guidelines for submission are followed,
anything submitted is approved. However, many submissions
are rejected because they do not follow the guidelines for
submission as stated herein.
Guideline for BEE-L Submissions
1. Do not include excessive quotes of previous submissions.
If you must quote previous postings, include only what
is necessary to make your point. Submissions that in-
clude the entirety of previous posts will be rejected
without comment or notice.
2. Submit your posts as TEXT ONLY! There are many sub-
scribers whose mailers will not interpret text markup
languages and to them submissions which include markup
characters (such as HTML) appear as gibberish. Sub-
missions to BEE-L must be in the lowest common denomina-
tor for all subscribers, which is TEXT ONLY! Posts
submitted to BEE-L in markup languages will be rejected
without notice.
3. Binary file attachments are not allowed on BEE-L. Simi-
lar to markup languages, many subscribers have mailers
not able to decipher binary file attachments (such as MS
Word attachments). Submissions with binary attachments
are never approved by the list moderators, most times
without notice. Suggestions for binary attachments in-
clude deciphering them at your end to include in the
text of your submission or making them available at your
site and advertising their availability on BEE-L.
Please verify your URLs. If detected, submissions with
invalid or nonexistant URLs will not be approved, possi-
bly without notice.
4. Do not send personal responses to the entire list. If
Bea Keepr posts something to the list that inspires you
to write to Bea, DO NOT send your personal response to
BEE-L, send it to Bea! Only send to the list that which
you want read by everyone. Submissions to the list that
appear to be personal responses are rarely approved by
the list moderators, often without notice.
5. Trolling (name calling, baiting, incivility) is not tol-
erated. Heated discussions are allowed, after all we're
beekeepers and may not always agree. But as Rodney King
put it, "Can't we all just get along?" This is a grey
area up to the discretion of the moderators, but offend-
ing submissions will be rejected without notice.
6. Do not send LISTSERV service requests to the list. Re-
quests of LISTSERV for list services must be sent to:
[log in to unmask]
LISTSERV service requests sent to BEE-L are never ap-
proved by the list moderators, no notice is given and
the requested service is not provided.
7. Submissions to BEE-L must be related to the "Informed
Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology". SPAM
is NEVER approved! Furthermore, submissions must be
"Informed"! BEE-L is not intended to be a substitute
for beginning texts on keeping bees. If your question
is a basic beekeeping question, it has probably been
asked and answered on BEE-L before, perhaps many times.
Answers to frequently asked questions may be found by
searching the BEE-L archives. Submissions of frequently
asked questions may be approved or not, with or without
notice. Approved frequently asked questions are often
met with cries of "Search the Archives!". Cries of
"Search the Archives!" are sometimes approved to drive
home the point, but rarely.
8. Submissions to BEE-L should not contain misinformation.
Although slow to admit it, the moderators do not know it
all. However, blatant misinformation is rejected with-
out notice. Realizing there is a fine line between new,
thought provoking ideas and misinformation the modera-
tors strive for leniency in their judgment and prefer to
err on the side of thought provoking ideas. Reader be-
ware that if you read it here it ain't necessarily so!
9. BEE-L is not a marketplace. Product reviews are wel-
come. Product announcements are tolerated. Repeated
announcements and marketing are less welcome proportion-
ately to their frequency. Advertisements may be re-
jected without notice.
10. Lastly, long signature files are discouraged. A guide-
line of five lines is suggested. Life histories and
driving directions to your doorstep or place of business
are strongly discouraged and are often rejected without
notice.
The BEE-L moderators and subscribers thank you in advance
for adhering to these guidelines. We hope you find your
BEE-L experience informative, engaging, educational and most
importantly, fun!
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