Focus List rules

1. WELCOME AND INTRO

The UUCSR-Focus mailing list provides an unofficial forum for electronic mail discussion among members and pledging friends of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Santa Rosa (UUCSR), California.

UUCSR-Focus is a moderated, limited-topic e-mail list. Posted messages are held for approval by the list  administrator(s).  Therefore, please expect a delay in your postings to the Focus list of several hours in some cases.

Our other list, UUCSR-Open, is unrestricted, so if you want your message to go out immediately, or not subject to topic boundaries, then make sure you are subscribed, and address your post to: <UUCSR-Open@lists.sonic.net>.

Topics of messages (including replies) on UUCSR-Focus are limited to:

• Activities of UUCSR,

  • the district, and

  • the denomination.

• Your relationship to UUCSR and its members.

• Announcements of milestones, like the Joys & Sorrows book used in our Sunday services, such as:

  • births,

  • deaths,

  • marriages

  • other life passages of congregation members.

• You may also post requests for (or offers of) assistance to or from congregation members.
  
  

Please consider other subjects ‘Off-Topic’ to the Focus list, and post instead to our unrestricted list, UUCSR-Open. Because UUCSR-Focus is moderated by list administrators, off-topic messages will not be approved, and so will not go through to the list.

UUCSR-Focus members may post only messages or replies they write themselves.

• Do not forward copies of other e-mail or web site text (please see ‘Write It Yourself: No Forwarding or Copying’ and ‘Conduct, Courtesy, and Respect’ below).

• Reply posts that consist entirely of assent — e.g., “I agree,” “ditto,” or “me too,” without additional content — should be directed to the sender (and/or other concerned parties), rather than to the entire Focus List.

NOTE: Ministers of UUCSR may post or reply to UUCSR-Focus on any topic at their discretion.

Only UUCSR members and pledging friends may join UUCSR-Focus.

2. HOW TO POST A MESSAGE

Write your own message, and send it to:
UUCSR-Focus@lists.sonic.net

NOTE: To avoid the risk of embedded viruses, the mailing list program automatically removes any file attachments and special formatting from messages, leaving them in plain text.

SUBSCRIBED ADDRESS ONLY: Make sure that you send your message from a subscribed e-mail address. Only messages from subscribed addresses can post. The mailing list program silently drops messages from other email addresses.

3. PUBLIC REPLY

To reply to the entire UUCSR-Focus, use your ‘Reply to All’ function if you have it, or use ‘Reply,’ but then change the ‘To’ heading to:
UUCSR-Focus@lists.sonic.net

4. WRITE IT YOURSELF: NO FORWARDING OR COPYING

Write your messages in your own words.

NO FORWARDING OR COPYING
Do not send forwarded messages or material copied from sources such as an email or web sites — no copied jokes, virus warnings, chain letters, petitions, or any other material that you did not write yourself. However, you may include a web address for reference (for example, https://www.pcd-uua.org/ ).

The exception to copied material is brief messages of interest to UUCSR members from the Pacific Western Region or Unitarian Universalist Association.

(The No-Forwards rule does not apply to the other list, UUCSR-Open. However, on that list please refrain from posting virus warnings, chain letters, or forwarded e-mail petitions. Links to petition websites are discouraged but not disallowed.)

When in doubt, post to UUCSR-Open! If you wonder whether or not something is appropriate to the Focus list, send it to the UUCSR-Open list instead, or inquire with the list administrator first.

5. CONDUCT, COURTESY, AND RESPECT

A. If you have a personal problem with someone’s behavior on the Focus list, please communicate directly and privately to the person in question. If you cannot get satisfaction after contacting the person privately, please email the list administrator.

B. The following message content is forbidden:

• Personal attacks, criticism, disparaging remarks or other negative statements made about individual congregants (even if not named specifically). Please address personal conflicts off-list.

• Insults, swearing, or other hostile behavior

• Forwarded or copied material (see ‘Write It Yourself,’ above)

• Off-topic messages, as described in section 1 above. Please post those messages to our unrestricted list, UUCSR-Open.

• Reply posts that consist entirely of assent — e.g., “I agree,” “ditto,” or “me too,” without additional content — should be directed to the sender (and/or other concerned parties), rather than to the entire Focus List.

C. Criticism or dissent about denominational or UUCSR issues is permitted; however, members are asked to post critical comments mindfully and respectfully.

D. The list administrator has final responsibility to assess messages according these rules.

E. These rules apply to all posts, whether a member initiates a message or responds to someone else’s message.

F. Messages violating these rules will not be approved for posting by the administrators.

G. Repeated violations will be grounds for removal from the list.

6. SUBSCRIBING

If you want to subscribe to UUCSR-Focus, first become a member or pledging friend of UUCSR. Then, visit the general list information page, fill out the section “Subscribing to UUCSR-Focus,” and click the “Subscribe” button. Please allow three days for the administrator to verify your membership status and subscribe you.

7. YOUR PASSWORD

You will need to use your e-mail address and UUCSR-Focus password to:

• Change your e-mail address

• Change your subscription setup

• View old messages in the archives

• Unsubscribe

Initially, the list automatically assigns you a random password, which you will see at the end of this message.

A. To get your current password later, visit the general list information page.

At the bottom of the page, enter your e-mail address and click the ‘Unsubscribe or Edit Options’ button. In the following page, under ‘Password Reminder’, click the ‘Remind’ button. You will receive your current password by e-mail.

Because your password arrives by e-mail in clear text, and thus becomes vulnerable to interception, please log on and then change your password right away, if possible.

B. To change your password, first think of a new password that you do NOT use for any other sensitive information, such as banking. Then visit the general list information page.

At the bottom of the page, enter your e-mail address and click the ‘Unsubscribe or Edit Options’ button. In the following page, under ‘Change Your Password’, enter your old password, followed by your new password twice, and click the ‘Change My Password’ button.

8. UNSUBSCRIBING

If you no longer want to be on this list, you can easily unsubscribe.
To remove your address from UUCSR-Focus, visit the general list information page.

At the bottom of the page, enter your e-mail address and click the ‘Unsubscribe or Edit Options’ button. In the following page, enter your password, and then click the ‘Unsubscribe’ button.

If you don’t know your password, please see the ‘Your Password’ section above.

The program will e-mail you a confirmation message. This message will have a link that you should click on to complete the removal process (you can also confirm by email; see the instructions in the confirmation message).

9. HOW TO SEE PAST MESSAGES

To see past messages, visit the general list information page.

Under ‘About UUCSR-Focus’, click ‘UUCSR-Focus Archives’. In the following page, enter your e-mail address and password (see ‘Your Password’ above) and click the button, ‘Let me in…’.

10. CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS AND SETTINGS

To change your e-mail address, or change the way you receive mail from the list, visit the general list information page.

At the bottom of the page, enter your e-mail address and click the ‘Unsubscribe or Edit Options’ button. In the following page, enter your password, and then click the ‘Log in’ button.

You’ll next see your list configuration page, where you can change your address, and alter many other settings of your subscription.