Patch-L rules

Over time we have had to institute some specific rules to deal with problems that have come up and to keep things orderly. These were presented to subscribers when they sent the subscribe command and they agreed to them when they replied to the questionnaire.

First and foremost, we go by the Scout Oath and Law. The listowners also feel that this is not something you turn on and off. Meaning, the standards here apply across the board. Further meaning, don't expect to stay a member if you have a habit of making good on your patch-L trades, but let the Scout Oath and Law slip on trades made at a trade-o-ree. Really.

Commercial Activity prohibited in posts to Patch-L at Google Groups

You must not make any offer to sell any items or otherwise undertake commercial activity in any post to Patch-L. For the time being we are keeping with the rules of our original host SUNY-Buffalo. Doing so can result in your immediate removal from the list. Saying you have an item for sale but not listing the price is still a violation.

Any post that is the result of malware, virus or infection of any subscribed email account will result in the permanent ban of the compromised email address in order to protect other Patch-L members.

Improper Behavior/SPAM

Any improper behavior on this list will result in your immediate removal. Improper behavior includes public flaming, posting unnecessarily long listings of available stuff, offers to sell items (If you want to sell, do so via private e-mail), complaints from other users regarding improper conduct (including private flames to other members that are not in keeping with the Scout Oath and Law), or any violation of the Scout Oath & Law. Also, please do not reveal secrets of OA ceremonies or discuss non-patch issues.

Trim your replies drastically. Subscribers who reply to the entire list and continually include irrelevant part of the message (address headers, patch-L footers, signature lines, non-pertinent part of the message, etc.) will find themselves set to moderate and their messages discarded until they figure out how to stop wasting bandwidth. When you fail to do this, it's like filling the bathtub just to get a glass of water. Don't do it. In the alternative, Listowners may set your account to digest so you see the full effect of your and other's sloppiness all at one time.

Posts of long list of items is prohibited. Every line eats up bandwidth and space. If you have long lists to share - convert them to a paragraph or post them on a web page and include a link.

Consolidate your posts and use subject lines. You don't have the right to fill everyone's mailbox with several notes, when they could be combined - use the subject line to describe your contents. Members who continually ignore this rule will be set to moderation and all posts after the first may be discarded. If the behavior continues, you may be removed.