OpenSUSE mailing list netiquette

From openSUSE

This netiquette is a recommendation of how to write messages to the openSUSE mailing lists that are easy to read, reduce the amount of text and number of messages, help mutual understanding and avoid flames. If you have been pointed to this page after posting a message the reason is, probably, that you made some common mistake that we all did, at least once, so don't feel alone and continue reading. It will help all of us openSUSE mail lists users.

Why we need netiquette

Old-timers and real experts - the ones who can give a good advice - read a lot of emails every day and don't have time to reorder messages before they read them. So, if you want timely advice, please adjust your posting style to the customs of the openSUSE mailing lists. All that we are asking is common politeness, the same that you would show joining a group of people that have established social rules. You can't expect that whole group will adjust to you, but exactly opposite.

Below is a collection of our customs and the reasons why we consider them appropriate. If you have an emergency, we understand. You may read the netiquette after you post your initial question.

Do it yourself

First of all before you write a Mail to the List, please try to find an Solution by yourself. That is faster, you can learn anything and this minimize the Traffic. If you have a Question about an Program, you can read the Manpages (man Program name) from the Program. And you can search in /usr/share/doc/packages and /usr/share/doc/howto for Solutions.

Sure, you have read the openSUSE Handbooks. The Books are available on the openSUSE CDs.

You can also use the openSUSE-Support Database for informations. The SDBs are available in http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:History. This Database is Work in Progress. It would be overworked.

The Site http://www.tuxsucht.de is a special customized Google Serach, and this searches for Linux Related Stuff.

As another Option you can go to our official Support Forums:

   * http://forums.opensuse.org

You can use the Usenet for Informations by using http://groups.google.com. Maybe someone has answered your Question in the past. Last but not least you can search the Archiv from the Mailinglist. In the Archiv you find Mails since 2000. Better search before you ask the Question the 17th time. You find the Archives in:

   * http://lists.opensuse.org

There you can read and surf through the Archiv.

An other Archiv for different Mailinglist about Linux you can find there: http://www.http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/.

Use a descriptive subject

The openSUSE mailing lists receive hundreds of emails every day. So, if you have a question or a problem to solve, please use a subject that summarizes your issue and also gives some details about the body of the message. Here are some good examples of subjects from real messages to openSUSE mailing lists:

Much more about good and bad subjects:

• Help written by Linux veterans Eric Raymond and Rick Moen to computer users that have a problem, yet don't know how to ask right question and get straight answer.

If your Problem is solved, please mark the Subject as (solved). An example:

Subject: My great Subject (solved)

So we can see which Topics are closed.

Mail Format

You should use Linebreaks by 72 Chars in your Mailprogram. You find this in the Preferences.

Quoting

When you reply to a message, please quote only the relevant passages to which you are replying. Indeed, you can quote only a few words that are essential to identifying the passages to which you are replying. Everyone on a mailing list is served by one mail list server and receives all messages quickly. That means there is no need to repost the whole message, like on Usenet (newsgroups) where readers often see an answer hours before the relevant question.

• The quoting HOWTO gives a nice introduction to the art of mail quoting.

Use bottom-posting or interleaved style to answer

Common to both styles is that you quote relevant sentences from the previous message and give your answers under the quote. These are the styles that are commonly used on the mailing lists - first the question (quoted) and then the answer.

Bottom-posting

The bottom-posting style is used when an answer relates to a single question or statement in the previous message.

This means that you reply underneath the quoted text. It leads to a natural flow in messages that have quotes from previous posts.

Interleaved style

The interleaved style is used when you answer multiple statements from a previous message. That way, the reader first reads the question and then the answer.

Why we prefer these two styles

We are often discussing topics that include comments to:

• the output of a command, configuration files, or program code that contains multiple lines, and multiple comments are interleaved with original text
• groups of tests performed to troubleshoot a problem, and we need to use a style that will allow us to insert comments between quotes of the original message, with a summary or another proposal at the end of message.

The fact is, we live in different time zones, so giving one option, then waiting another day for the answer to give another proposal, would be a waste of time. The discussion would stretch over days. So, we are trying to avoid this by offering more options at once with answers that are interleaved with the original proposals.

Time and practice brought the general consensus that this is a better way to communicate on the lists. However, lists can have different operating conditions and they can consider some other posting style as appropriate.

Changing the subject without opening a new thread

Very often a long thread splits into several topics (for example if there are several answers to the same problem). In this case changing the subject may be necessary. One widely accepted method for this is a subject like

Re: kde icon blinks (was: is that an Xfree problem?)

Later reply posts usually remove the (was: ...) part. This allows to change a subject, but keep thread structure intact. If the discussion led to a totally different subject, you may stop, open a new thread and go on. On the other side usually others wont follow you and still discuss in old thread, so use thread splitting wisely.

Also, do not simply hit Reply to a message and change the subject to start a new discussion. When you do so you break the thread that was in progress making it hard to follow in the archives.

Don't be aggressive

This applies to new and old openSUSE mail list users.

Most of the people on the list are friendly and helpful. They use their free time to help others, so even if you are angry because you can't solve some problem, please, calm down and then post your question. It will help you to tell what is the problem without aggressive and abusive language, and it will help readers to understand what is the problem.

To answer the question one has to know a few details about the problem. Don't be upset because there is a question asking for more information. We would like to help, but not everybody has a good crystal ball to see the things that are not written in email, so we have to ask.

Understand that the audience is passionate about openSUSE, posting that you hate openSUSE, Linux, the mailing list, or other closely related things, will most likely get passionate responses, don't take things too personally.

Mail lists are used by a lot of people whose first language is not English, nor do they know computer related terms. This sometimes leads to misunderstandings in excess of the normal misunderstandings that can happen in email exchanges.

Don't be aggressive to new posters, but instead help them on their way to become a part of our community, sometimes a private email may be appropriate, to explain something, but mainly it is not wanted and if it has answer it is interesting not only for poster, but also for many that read the list archives, for instance after looking for answer on Google.

Personal attacks are not wanted on any openSUSE mail list.

Personal and mail list answers

Replies to the posts (emails) that you receive through the mail list should go to back to the list so that others searching the archives at a later date can benefit. In case when your reply is not related to the thread use direct mail.

Although, some people don't like it when they receive a reply to a list post direct to their email address, other don't mind (that much). Sometimes people explicitly indicate that they don't want to receive mails direct to their email address and not via the list. To be on safe side, it is better to avoid direct replies without invitation.

There is also a problem with some mail programs that don't have the option "Reply to List". You can use "Reply to All" and then remove all except the opensuse.org address. See example below, how it should appear. Remember that for one to post to the list assumes that he reads the list, therefore a direct mail in addition to the list post is a duplicate on an already voluminous list.

How to know where answer will go? It is easy, there is address field at the top of your mail program. You can see in example what you should look for:

This is answer to the list. Everybody on the list will see the answer.
This is answer to the person. It is also called direct, or personal mail. Nobody else will see the answer.

Don't use a long signature block

Most people on the list genuinely want to help people out in solving any issues they may have. Very large signature blocks at the bottom of emails can hinder this as they often swamp the actual body of the email. Reference on your system properties, address, web page, etc, has just opposite effect than you may want if it is too long.

A good guideline is a maximum of four lines with not more than 80 characters of plain text.

For reference read Jargon File: McQuary Limit

Attachements

If its needed, to post a Logfile or similar to that, please don't use the Mail for that. Better use an Pasteserver like http://en.pastebin.ca for that. If its needed to post Pictures, so use from 500Kb One-Klick-Hoster like Rapidshare.

Don't post Off Topic emails to the mail lists

Each list is created to discuss one part of the openSUSE activity. The topic is posted on Communicate/Mailinglists page next right to the links for subscription and help. Please stay within this realm and help reduce the volume of unrelated posts to any list.

It may seem interesting to discuss topics not related to openSUSE as listed on Communicate/Mailinglists page and for that purpose is created opensuse-offtopic@opensuse.org list, so be kind and use it for any topic you like.
P.S.
It has to be off topic otherwise it is off topic for this list :-)
Use common sense when posting article, it is openSUSE list, not misc-current-politics. Not every topic is wanted.

Do not use HTML

Most of openSUSE mail lists users have HTML turned off for many reasons (1). HTML message looks strange as a plain text and it is hard to read. People will avoid it if possible, or complain asking you to post in plain text if they can't skip it.

(1) Believe it or not there are still many people who are forced to use metered dialup connections to the internet and posting to the list using html adds considerably to their costs. So please show consideration to _all_ list members and post using plain text email only. (2) Some properties of HTML are misused by spammers to harvest email addresses and good email client programs are set not to use HTML, except by user request. That makes HTML post unreadable and people just skip them.

Conclusion

This is how we make our lives easier while being as effective in helping others as time permits.

We don't mind occasional posts that don't lean to netiquette, specially if someone is in hurry, new to our mail list, using mobile device that lacks functions, but permanently breaking rules will not make you any friends.

If you find ideas expressed here to be too restrictive, or lacking some important information, feel free to comment using Discussion link at the top of the page.

Feedback you can send to: Sascha Manns

See also

• Mail is list of few articles about email
• Mail Clients is list of few mail programs used to read email