POLICIES and MESSAGING Welcome to the Policies for the COPD-Support Family of Programs. We hope that you find our service of value in your life. All of our policies and programs were established to provide support, education, and a forum for the sharing of ideas and solutions in dealing with COPD. You may hear our veteran subscribers refer to the programs as "The List" because the Mail List was first. But that quickly grew by adding a ChatRoom, Forums, the Newsletter and programs such as SmokeNoMore and Caregivers. Management reserves the right to restrict posting privileges, terminate any subscription, or ban anyone from the chatroom or Forum for any reason when in the opinion of management, such action is in the best interests of the organization.   Policies and Netiquette While we want our programs and messaging to be as open and lively as possible, there are a few rules of netiquette that we apply and insist on: Courtesy and civility.  This is often the biggest problem on mailing lists and other programs where individuals must exchange views. Remember that this is first, and foremost, a support and information resource. We are here to help each other - not call names or make snide remarks. So-called "flame" messages, or other acts of intolerance will not be permitted. If you are really upset about something that has been said, "sit on it" for a day or two. Then, if you still feel a need to "talk", reply privately - not to the full list or group. Try to never make an honest disagreement personal, and remember that there are controversial issues regarding emphysema and emphysema treatment. They are controversial because there is no absolute answer, and we must respect both sides of an issue, as well as those who believe in one side or the other.   Off-topic and private conversations.  Off topic offerings are inappropriate for COPD-Support, COPD-MOD, and the COPD Forum. For other programs, off topic items are allowed but should be offered as flavoring – not the main course. Private, two - or three sided conversations carried on by mailings to the list show poor judgment. Our programs foster many good friendships, which is one of its many benefits. But please keep private conversations between a few people private - send them directly to one another.   Commercial Posts  Are not permitted. Subscribers are certainly free to express opinions about commercial products, medicines and the like. However, strictly commercial messages are a no-no. A commercial message is defined as a recommendation or information of any sort that could result in self-gain by the individual making the recommendation or providing the information.   Copyrighted Material  It is illegal for anyone to post copyrighted material without the express consent of the owner of the material.   Controversial Subjects.  Politics, religion, explicit sexual jokes, jokes with a religious theme, and other such controversial or potentially offensive subjects are always difficult among a large group of people. Therefore these subjects should always be avoided when communicating within any of our programs. This restriction includes the signature tag at the end of message.   Advocacy.  While a cure for emphysema or other COPD conditions is important and while we are all concerned with how government is dealing with issues surrounding these diseases our programs are not a suitable venue for such discussions. Please remember that our purpose is to provide information and support – not a place for advocacy.   Privacy.  The audience for our programs that require subscription is intended to be for subscribers to that program alone. Thus posting content from this list to other sources violates this sense of trust and privacy. Likewise, posting private messages from an individual or from another list to any of our lists without the specific permission of the author also violates our privacy policy. The key thing to consider is whether or not anyone's privacy has been compromised without their specific permission.   Messaging - Posting Messages Basic  Reply to your List's regular mail messages by: clicking on the "Reply to All" icon, typing what you want to say in the body of your new message, and sending it. Addressing  The above sends your reply to the original poster and to the whole list. To send just to the original poster, click on "Reply" rather than "Reply to all" To send just to the List, click on "Reply to All" but then go to the address area of your reply message and delete the original poster's address. To reply to messages received inside a Digest or the Condensed List, you must manually enter your List's address (see below), or an individual's address, in the address space in your reply message.   To initiate a new message, manually enter your List's address, or an individual's address, in your message's address space.             These last two "manual" entries are simple if you use your program's Address Book. Subject  New messages and replies to messages received inside a Digest or the Condensed List, require manual entry in the Subject area of your message. Message Body  The body is where you type in what you want to say or ask. If you are replying, quoting some of the original message is a big help for others to understand what the message is about. Mail programs have quoting options to define what text from the original should appear in your reply once you click on the "Reply" or "Reply to All" icon: All of the original message. None of the original message. That portion of the original message that you block out with your mouse. Experienced computer users quote judiciously. They include just enough of the original text in their replies so readers can quickly understand the new message. They avoid over-quoting: including so much of the original that readers lose interest in the reply. Note: Plain Text Only  Messages with attachments, styled fonts and colors, HTML coding (web page coding), and similar are treated as possible spam/viruses and rejected by the Mail List server. The choice for plain text vs. special fonts, colors and coding is determined by the sending person's computer. Reminder  Doing only the "Basic" above is just fine for some systems and those new to the list. Our focus is COPD, not messaging expertise! List Addresses COPD-SUPPORT List  —  COPD-SUPPORT@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM COPD List  —  COPD@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM COPD-MOD List  —  COPD-MOD@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM COPD-CAREGIVERS List  —  COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Moderating As explained in Programs, lists are moderated to avoid spam and keep postings on subject. For more information, see Programs  or  Moderated.     Copyright © 1999-2008  COPD-Support, Inc  All Rights Reserved Contact:  Management       .