Please make sure the subject line in your message is clear and
informative, summarizing your topic. People look at the subject line
to determine whether a message is relevant to them and worth their
time to read.
See the Welcome Message in the
first digest for more information.
Also see discussions of moderator
philosophy in second digest.
VI. Target Audience
By definition, the target audience for this mailing list will be
intelligent adults who are already familiar with the general stories
about Area 51, including Black Budget aircraft, the claims of Bob Lazar,
the "E.T. Highway" and related hoopla, as well as the general geography
of the area. Unlike the newsgroups, this mailing list is intended as a
research and discussion forum for those who are already well versed on
Area 51 and related topics; it is not the aim of this mailing list to
educate newcomers.
Since the knowledge of the group will change with time, the standards of
what is "interesting" and "relevant" will also change.
In defining this list, these additional assumptions are made about
subscribers:
- Subscribers have web access and visit the
Area 51/Ufomind What's New page at least
once a week. Thus, we will not re-post items listed in What's New unless
they are particularly timely or time critical. (In that case, only a
short summary need be posted to the list, along with a URL or instructions
to check What's New.)
People without web access are free to subscribe, but
that may be in the dark
about some of the topics discussed.
- It is assumed that subscribers do not regularly visit
any newsgroups or subscribe to any internet mailing lists apart from this
one. Thus, messages from newsgroups and other mailing lists may be
re-posted to the list if they meet our charter. (The list will then
serve as a "filter" for Area 51 messages from other internet sources,
including alt.conspiracy.area51.)
- It is assumed that new subscribers to this mailing list have
reviewed our previous postings
(at least from the last couple of months) and know the general
topics and discussions that have already taken place. Thus, they have
the same "memory" as the rest of the group, and we
don't have to go over old ground again.
VII. Operational Issues
- There is no minimum number of messages. If no appropriate messages
are available on any given day, none will be sent. The eventual aim is
for no more than a half dozen messages per day. If volume becomes too
large,
we may try to cut it down by being more selective.
- The list of subscribers will be kept confidential and will not be
used for any other purpose except
for the mailing list.
- No one will be specifically "blacklisted" from posting to this list.
However, every submission, regardless of author, must meet the criteria of
the list or it will not be accepted.
Moderator will give less leniency to people who repeatedly submit
inappropriate material.
- If any submission is rejected, the author will normally be
notified, along with a general reason (3-4 words) and perhaps advice on
how to make the message acceptable (moderator's time permitting).
- All messages sent out on the list will be permanently archived in
digest form, linked from this page.
- We may also establish an archive for "rejected" messages so
subscribers can see what they are missing and can evaluate the moderator.
(Time permitting.)
VIII. Moderator Duties
Moderators are appointed by the Area 51 Research Center. Although the
moderator may be invisible, he (she) plays an important role in keeping
the list focussed. Although he is obligated to obey the charter above,
his job is more an art than a science --
especially in evaluating what is "intelligent" and "interesting".
The moderator's main responsibility is to accept or reject messages
based on the general criteria above. It is
not his responsibility to determine the factual accuracy of any message.
He doesn't usually have to read the whole message, just enough to
determine that the message is appropriate for
the list. Minor violations of the charter can be overlooked as long as
the message as a whole is worthwhile.
The moderator may edit messages in the following minor ways, without notice
and without changing the "From" address of the message:
- Change the subject line however he deems fit, to make it more useful to
readers.
- Remove superfluous lines, such as excessive quotation of a previous
message.
- Reformat text paragraphs to conform to the standard margin width.
- Add links to relevant web pages.
Messages that are more extensively edited must be reposted under
the moderator's email address (with the address of the source also given).
When a message is rejected, the moderator should send a message to
the author to this effect. See sample rejection
letter.
Rejection notices are sent only as time permits and at the discretion
of the moderator.
The moderator has the authority and obligation to "pull the plug" on
any topic of conversation if the thread becomes tedious and repetitive
with no new information given. (To keep the list alive, someone has to
say, "Okay, lets move on.")
Because a moderator cannot be on duty all the time,
delays of up to several days are possible between the time a
message is submitted and when it reaches subscribers.
(Because mailing list messages are given a low priority on the host
server, delivery delays of a day or more are possible even when the message is
approved immediately.)
Tired Topics
Here is a partial list of "tired topics" that have been talked about so
many times
on newsgroups that they aren't interesting anymore.
Unless a substantially new angle can be introduced, messages on these
topics
will probably be rejected.
- Reports to visits to the Nellis Range border where nothing
happens.
- Proposals to send a remote controlled model airplane into Area 51.
- Proposals to invade Area 51 with hundreds of people.
IX. Sponsor
The Area 51 Research Center, as the host of
the remailer, is the ultimate authority on submission criteria. We will
always accept suggestions on how the rules can be improved, but the current
written rules must be respected. If anyone feels that the criteria of
this list are too arbitrary or
constraining, they are free to start their own mailing list elsewhere.
Disgruntled parties are also free to post unmoderated messages to
alt.conspiracy.area51, along with any complaints they
may have about the list.
Stats
This list was started Sept. 1, 1996.
As of
[an error occurred while processing this directive],
there were
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
subscribers (about half digest-only).
Digest is generated every 5 days or 12 messages, whichever comes first.
Due to high load on the mail server,
a delay of 4-36 hours is now common between message approval
and its delivery to subscribers (not including the delay
before the moderator approves the message).
|
This page has been frozen.
New links are not allowed and broken links will not be repaired
+indicates documents stored on this server.
This page has been frozen.
New comments are not allowed.
Created: 9/1/96 gc
Last Modified: 1/15/97 gc.e