The latest version (Jan. 7, 2006)of this FAQ is always available here at this URL.
Are you concerned about environmental and conservation issues, especially in southeast Michigan? Do you suspect environmental problems are piling up and opportunities are slipping away? Then, you need enviro-semich, and it needs you.
WHAT IS enviro-semich?
enviro-semich@umich.edu is a local/regional email list which reports and discusses environmental and conservation issues relating mainly, but not exclusively, to southeast
Michigan. It will be an impotant source of information and a powerful voice for conservation and protecting
the environment.
As of December 30, 2005, there were 402 members of the list.
HOW DO I POST TO enviro-semich?
It's simple. Send an email message to enviro-semich@umich.edu, but only subscribers can post to this list.
HOW DO I JOIN?
To subscribe to enviro-semich@umich.edu, send an email to:
lyris@listserver.itd.umich.edu
and include "SUBSCRIBE enviro-semich Your Name" (without the quotes) in the subject line or as a one-line message. Here, 'Your Name' is optional.
You can also subscribe at http://listserver.itd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?join=enviro-semich by clicking on this link
You do not need to bother with a password at this site if you do not wish to. The Status line is where you can set your message delivery mode. Most subscribers are using "receive messages as they are contributed". See Download options below for more information.
HOW MANY MESSAGES WILL I GET IF I JOIN?
The traffic level is difficult to judge at this time, but we will probably average 5 messages a day. If you are concerned about this level of traffic, see the section on Filters and Download Options below for some helpful measures.
FILTERS AND DOWNLOAD OPTIONS
Filters- Most e-mail programs offer some sort of filtering capability, so that group e-mails can be filtered into a special mail box to be checked at your convenience without loading up your Inbox.
Download options- At this site: (http://listserver.itd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=enviro-semich), you can select your own preference for type of delivery of postings. You can get there by clicking on this link.
After entering the Mailing List: "enviro-semich"
select Your Settings and then set Status to one of the following:
mail: to receive messages as they are contributed
digest: to receive one daily message with all the contributions for that day
mimedigest: to receive one daily message with all the contributions for that day
in MIME format
index: to receive one daily message with only the subject lines for that day
nomail: to receive no mail from this list (used for temporary suspension
of mail and by users who prefer to browse the archives)
Alternatively, you can do this by sending an e-mail to the list serve.
For example - To turn off your enviro-semich mail for a while,
send a blank message with Subject line "set enviro-semich nomail" to
Lyris@listserver.itd.umich.edu.
To resume receiving mail, do the same except use the command
"set enviro-semich mail".
If you are away for a while and let your mailbox fill up (having not sent a "nomail" command to the listserver), you may find that even after emptying your mailbox you are not receiving enviro-semich postings. The solution to this is to unsubscribe and then resubscribe.
HOW DO I RESIGN?
You may unsubscribe from enviro-semich@umich.edu with an email having UNSUBSCRIBE enviro-semich in the subject line or in the body of the message. Send the email tolyris@listserver.itd.umich.edu
You must send your unsubscribe request from the same email address that you want to unsubscribe. If this is not possible, you will need to unsubscribe at the listserver web page. (See below: IS THERE A WEB SITE OR ARCHIVE ASSOCIATED WITH enviro-semich@UMICH.EDU?)
We suggest resigning temporarily or setting Status to nomail if you are going to be away for an extended period. This will prevent your mailbox from becoming full, and it will prevent bounces back to the listserver. Too many bounces to the listserver will cause your membership to be deleted automatically (see BOUNCED MAIL below), and you will then need to resubscribe.
WHO ARE THE MEMBERS?
Many of the members of enviro-semich are faculty, staff or students of the University of Michigan but the membership includes subscribers from all over Michigan. Anyone with an email address is welcome to join. The roster includes a wide range of expertise, but you do not have to be a professional to have a big impact here.WHAT TOPICS ARE APPROPRIATE?
Rule number 1 - There are NO "stupid" questions.
Enviro-semich aims to provide a forum for environmental and conservation issues relating to SE Michigan. We urge you to share your observations and concerns with an interested group on enviro-semich. Topics might include announcements of public hearings on plans that have environmental impacts.
Personal attacks are not allowed (see Flames below). Sometimes, it may be appropriate to mention names; however, it is important to focus on the environmental issues, not the people.
Keep discussions civil. Don't assume that anyone who disagrees with you must (necessarily) be an idiot.
WHAT IS THE PROPER FORMAT FOR POSTING? There are no hard rules. In general just write your message up as you feel conveys your points most effectively; however, please be observe the following format guidelines in addition to the topical guidelines just given.
Concise text- If you want your message to have a favorable impact, it is necessary to keep the text brief and on target. If documentation or additional information is needed, you may want to include links to the necessary documentation. No attachments.
Subject titles- Your message will have the maximum impact if your subject tiles are not only concise but accurately and simply describe your subject. This will also allow persons who happen not to be interested in that particular topic to skim over the message.
Postings of a commercial nature must be pre-approved by enviro-semich admin. Such postings must be related to southeast Michigan environmental or conservation matters and be of interest to a significant portion of the enviro-semich membership in the opinion of enviro-semich admin. Further, such postings from any member of enviro-semich should be limited to two per year. (Approval for all postings after an initial approval is tacit.)
ATTACHMENTS NOT ALLOWED
Please DO NOT post any attachments.FLAMES (derogatory comments against other list members) NOT TOLERATED!
Flames will not be tolerated on this list or in private emails to list members in regard to their postings. Flames in response to other flames are also unacceptable. Any problems with a list member should be taken up with them in private or with the list administrators. Violations of this flames policy will be dealt with by the list administrators via personal email, and repeated violations are grounds for dismissal from the list. If you feel the urge to voice a concern about improper use of the list, please send it to the list administrators at admin-enviro-semich@umich.edu and do not post it to the entire list.
PLEASE.. NO RICH-TEXT
If you are using Outlook, Internet Explorer, or Netscape to write email, please turn off HTML formatting, often called Rich-Text or styled text. Many enviro-semich members are not able to read such emails without saving them and then viewing with a web browser.
IS THERE A WEB SITE OR ARCHIVE ASSOCIATED WITH enviro-semich@umich.edu?
Yes. You can subscribe, unsubscribe, and peruse the 365-day enviro-semich archives at http://listserver.itd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=enviro-semich. You can also select your own preferences for type of delivery of postings, etc.
The 365-day archive is searchable, and you also reach it by clicking on this link . Sign in as a member or nonmember, and click on the READ MESSAGES box. The messages are nicely arranged by threads, but you can change this.
At this time, we do not know of any other web sites where postings to this list are temporarily archived.
RELATED email GROUPS
We will fill in this information as this list develops.
BOUNCED MAIL
The Lyris listserver has the ability to handle mail bounces transparently to the list owner. In other types of distribution of group email, bounces are sent to the list owners (administrators). If your mailbox fills up or if there are other failures in getting the list postings to you, you may be automatically unsubscribed. The list owner has set the conditions for automatic deletion of your subscription. The current setting is for deletion after 11 days of failures. In the case you fail to receive postings to the list, you may need to resubscribe, especially if you have had your mailbox overflow.
WHAT ABOUT SPAM TO THE LIST?
Spam, or junk email, is unsolicited email sent in mass mailings by people with a product to promote. (Another term used is UBE for Unsolicited Bulk Email.) What do we do about spam? Nothing! We don't get any! Spam is automatically rejected by the Lyris listserver because enviro-semich is a nonmembers-may-not-post list. If the listserver does not recognize an incoming email as being from a member's address, it does not send it on to the list.
VIRUS WARNINGS (HOAXES) Please DO NOT post warnings to enviro-semich@umich.edu about computer viruses. We all from time to time receive email warnings from friends about computer viruses. These are hoaxes 95 percent of the time--hoaxes that waste untold amounts of time and probably eventually reach nearly every email box in the world. If you have a concern about some new supposed virus that you've heard about, please check it out at one of the reputable web sites that have up-to-the-minute information about hoaxes and real viruses. Four good sites are:
University of Michigan Virus Busters http://virusbusters.itcs.umich.edu/
CIAC internet hoaxes http://HoaxBusters.ciac.org/
Data Fellows http://www.datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm
Vmyths http://www.Vmyths.com
In addition you can check the WildList Organization, Dr. Solomon, Symantec, and McAfee web sites:
http://www.WildList.org
http://www.drsolomon.com
http://www.sarc.com/
http://www.mcafee.com
If after checking your information, you still have a concern about a possible virus, send a message to the list administrators at admin-enviro-semich@umich.edu, not the entire enviro-semich group.
SCAM WARNINGS, CHAIN LETTERS, CONTESTS, ETC.
Please DO NOT post information to enviro-semich@umich.edu about telephone scams, mail and email scams, chain letters, contests, etc.
HOW TO CONTACT THE LIST ADMINISTRATORS
The entire list membership continually receives messages about administrative matters from persons who do not take the time to find out how to contact the list owners (administrators) directly. PLEASE learn how to contact the list owners. The information is HERE. When you send messages to enviro-semich@umich.edu about subscribing or unsubscribing or resubscribing or about missing or duplicate emails or other such matters, you are being inconsiderate of the 400+ members of the list who are not involved with list administration.
You may contact the list administrators by sending an email to any of the following equivalent addresses:
admin-enviro-semich@umich.edu admin_enviro-semich@umich.edu enviro-semich-owner@listserver.itd.umich.edu
or you may write the list administrators separately:
Larry D. Noodén (ldnum@umich.edu)
John Lowry (john@kingbird.org)
Note, however, that you must SUBSCRIBE and UNSUBSCRIBE yourself. The list administrators will not do this for you unless you are unable to do it yourself. See instructions above in the HOW DO I JOIN? and HOW DO I RESIGN?
PROBLEMS?
If you have problems subscribing or unsubscribing or any other problems that relate to administrative matters, PLEASE do not bother the entire membership by writing to enviro-semich@umich.edu. Instead, contact the list administrators directly as described in the above section, HOW TO CONTACT THE LIST ADMINISTRATORS.
We'll be happy to have you join us at enviro-semich@umich.edu.
See HOW DO I JOIN? above and sign up!
The "Welcome" document that was sent to you when you joined or will be sent to you when you join also has abbreviated information about enviro-semich@umich.edu. Larry Noodén, Coadministrator
John Lowry, Coadminstrator
John Lowry (john@kingbird.org)
http://kingbird.org
FAQ for enviro-semich@umich.edu
last modified: January 7, 2006
URL: http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/~ldnum/enviro/FAQ-enviro-semich.htm