These rules are a permanent Work in Progress. If you see something missing, or you just have a suggestion, please let us know by mailing us at mailto:spam-l-listmoms@spam-l.com . We take these rules a lot more seriously than we probably should, because we (the listmoms) believe that the death of the first Spam-L list was caused by a lack of basic ground rules and common courtesy. We ask that you treat them just as seriously as we do.
- Do what needs to be done. Everyone here has the same authority as everyone else. When in doubt, ask another listmom for advice. When *really* confused, ask two. regardless, ACT!
- Don't permit "foodfights" on the list! If it looks like a thread is "going south", use the "silent moderation" button to prescreen all posts for civility. Our #1 priority is to prevent ad-hominem or other types of attacks!
- Don't Censor! The only reason for denying a post is for violating a basic rule of civility, courtesy, or relevancy. And instead of simply denying the post, we should ask the poster to reword it (suggest appropriate phrases if asked or necessary) so it can be posted.
- Remember that everyone in here is effectively a Fellow in the
College of Spam-L. Treat *everyone* in here with respect. Even
if - *especially if* - you hate their guts, or their employers guts.
- Try hard to stop Thread Drift. Simply announcing that the thread has drifted and should have a new "Subject" of "x" should be enough 99.999% of the time. The other .001% of the time there is something obvious we are not seeing.
- Do NOT allow yourself to be manipulated into taking sides - ever!