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Posting Tips
Help
For Anyone Afraid To Post Messages To The Mailing Forum
Many
people feel afraid to post to mailing groups for a variety of reasons. This
fear stops members from enjoying the full benefits of their membership and it is
our desire to help you relish your experience here. So, if you are
afraid to post, read on and, we hope, by the end of this page your fears will be
exorcised.
FEAR 1: I don't know how to get my mail to the list.
FEAR BUSTER: Get it in proportion
Whenever we’re learning something new we make mistakes. Trial and error is an age-old human strategy for developing skills. Just be glad we're not back at the dawn of time trying to learn what foods were safe for humans to eat; a mistake there could be lethal.
ACTION:
If
you address your e-mail incorrectly it will not go anywhere 'dangerous' so why
worry?
FEAR 2: I am on review so if I make a mistake my letter will not appear on the list.
FEAR BUSTER: Get it in perspective
Everyone who joins the list is on review to allow them time to learn. There is no expectation that everybody is genetically designed to write to mailing lists. Therefore, you are not somehow 'inferior' because you don't know this already.
ACTION:
Follow the
Brief Posting Tips guide to write your letter to the best of your ability;
SEND
your letter off;
If
you receive a ‘resubmit’ letter from the moderator follow the editing
instructions and resubmit;
If you don’t understand the instructions, 'reply' with your questions.
FEAR 3: I may say something 'silly' and be embarrassed.
FEAR BUSTER: There's safety in numbers
'Silly' is a relative term and who's to judge? We have all said something 'silly' at one time or another; usually more often than that. We're not all Einstein here, you know.
ACTION:
If you think what you want to say may be too 'silly' and leave you open to embarrassment, run it by a friend or our Posting Mentor Wendy first for feedback. I bet you'll find they don't think it's 'silly' at all. Then, SEND your letter.
FEAR 4: I think I may write something that is against the list rules and get into 'trouble'.
FEAR BUSTER: Read the rules
If you fear that what you want to say may be an infringement of the list rules, maybe it is. Check the rules and see. The rules are there for the benefit of members, not to punish them. A diverse membership means that everyone cannot do everything they want. It's like a family, really. Imagine having a family of 2,000 or more, all doing whatever they wanted regardless of what others wanted or needed. You'd pretty soon be looking for a divorce or an adoption agency.
ACTION:
If you are unsure of the rules in relation to
your post, even when you've checked the guidelines, ask Wendy, our
Posting Mentor. That's what
she's there for;
to help members.
Correct any ‘rule infringements’ in your letter;
SEND your letter.
FEAR 5: I may use the wrong TKW (topic key word).
FEAR BUSTER: This is NOT blasphemy
Topic Key Words (TKW’s) are not there to ‘catch you out’; they’re there to
enable you to reach the audience of members who share your experience and have
an interest in the subject on which you are writing. There are 2 main reasons
for getting your TKW right.
1. If you put a TKW that does not ‘fit’ the
material written, people interested in the topic on which you’ve ACTUALLY
written may not see it.
2. People who have selected ‘out’ of the topic about
which you have ACTUALLY written, will not appreciate receiving ‘off topic’ mail,
so we try to avoid their having to receive it.
ACTION:
If you’re on review, as you are when you first start writing, you MAY receive a RESUBMIT REQUEST message to correct your TKW.
If you choose to send a message to the list without a TKW moderators don’t usually ask you to resubmit. Someone replying to your message may insert a TKW however, both as an aid to reaching your/their audience and as a teaching tool for others. REMEMBER, if you do not put any TKW at all, your letter will still go to the list but it will be under the ‘OTHER’ topic and many people do not receive that mail.
FEAR 6: I’ve been on review for what seems like ‘forever’ and the List Team will think I’m an ‘idiot’.
FEAR BUSTER: We all live in a ‘glass house’ here
The policy is to set members to NOReview as quickly as possible and then send 'gentle reminders' when they make mistakes but it can seem like forever sometimes. We all have FMS and we know people suffer from ‘fibrofog’ so our expectation is that people will sometimes, or often, experience difficulties when they are posting. In addition, we know that many people are new to computers and/or mailing lists and we don’t expect expertise or any particular ‘rate of learning’. Some people are ‘gifted’ when it comes to technology but most of us are not. Many people writing to the list ‘labor’ over their letter for ages before sending it to the list and still complain that they ‘got it wrong, sorry’. NO BIG DEAL.
ACTION:
Check over your letters to see if you are making the same mistakes
over and over;
If you can’t identify what you’re
doing ‘wrong’, get our
Posting Mentor
Wendy
to help you ‘sort it out’;
SEND your letters.
REMEMBER, it doesn’t matter if you stay on review ‘forever’ as long as you get support from the list. However, we know that it is a ‘human need’ to also give support to others, so see the next point.
FEAR 7: I don’t know how to write a ‘good’ letter and so can never write to the list.
FEAR BUSTER: No one can express your thoughts and feelings better than you can yourself AND people want to ‘hear’ you.
ACTION:
This is a really good one because you get a personal tutor FREE OF CHARGE, our
Posting Mentor
Wendy!
Send her your ‘draft’ letter, explaining what you want help with
(e.g., “I don’t think this makes sense” or “I think my punctuation is really
poor” or “I’m not sure how to say this best”, etc.);
Ask for feedback;
TAKE the advice you want and IGNORE the rest;
SEND THAT D**N LETTER because we really want to hear from you.
FEAR 7: I'm afraid I will be removed from the list or not allowed to post any longer if I make too many mistakes.
FEAR BUSTER You will not be removed from the list for making posting errors. You MAY continue to be on review until you learn how to post correctly.
ACTION:
Brief Posting Tips guide
Access Wendy, our
Posting Mentor;