Canine Conformation Mailing List
The Canine Conformation Mailing List
To subscribe to the conformation mailing list, send mail to listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu,
no subject, and with the command
subscribe conform-l Your Name
in the body of the message. Your Name is your real, actual, full name. Below I have included
the welcome message
to agility that all new subscribers recieve. I am not a member of this mailing
list, so this is all of the information I have about it.
<![CDATA[
WHAT IS CONFORM-L?
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO HERE
WHAT'S NETIQUETTE?
OTHER SOURCES OF CANINE INFORMATION
HOW TO BE A UNIX WIZ IN ONE EASY LESSON
THE COMMANDS IN BRIEF
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Conform-l attempts to provide substantive information about the complex world
of canine conformation with as high a signal-to-noise ratio as possible.
Membership in conform-l is a privilege, not a right. We don't have a lot of
rules, but it's important that you follow the ones that we *do* have.
Noncompliance with these guidelines will necessarily result in expulsion from
the list. While this approach may seem a little hard-nosed, bear in mind that
we have a waiting list of eager potential subscribers. An arbitration board
has been set up to help make sure that the conform-l community functions
smoothly; everyone will be expected at some point to take a turn serving on
the board.
WHAT IS CONFORM-L?
CONFORM-L is a discussion list for and about canine conformation.
Absolutely anything that may reasonably be seen to have a relationship to
canine conformation may be posted here. This includes, but is not limited to,
conformation standards, handling methods, training, health issues directly
related to conformation, ring etiquette, grooming tips, brags, etc. There
are one or two exceptions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO HERE:
Comments about specific breed judges should be handled by private email.
Certainly this type of information will be of interest to most subscribers
as some judges are "known" for favoring movement, heads, handlers, etc.
However, given the AKC regulations on disciplining people making disparaging
remarks about judges, I will have to ask that such remarks be exchanged
privately. Feel free to post a note on CONFORM-L asking for opinions.
If you can figure out a way to get this information across objectively,
without being negative (ie, using lists of past winners a judge has put
up), it might be acceptable. We'll have to play it by ear on that one.
Recall that membership on CONFORM-L is a privilege. In order to remain in
on good terms with the list administrator and all other subscribers, the
following rules need to be followed:
1. You will not retransmit any posts from conform-l without the explicit
permission of the original poster. Similarly, you may not reflect or remail
the digests from this list to other sites without the explicit permission
from each of the posters AND the list administrator. Related to this, you
may not take posts and share them with your friends, other local club members,
unless (1) they are also subscribed to CONFORM-L or (2) you have receieved
explicit permission from each author to share the information on that specific
post. Here's some of the reasoning behind all this:
The reepicheep lists are administered by individuals who volunteer their
time and equipment, and they are housed on a machine located at the
University of Oklahoma. They exist only because this institution and
these individuals remain willing to continue volunteering their services,
time, and equipment to keep these lists running.
If any use of the lists or of list materials threatens to place at legal
or financial risk the University of Oklahoma, the reepicheep system
administrator, or any of the listowners or other volunteers, or if we have
to spend our own time or money for legal advice or defense, or even if
subscriber activity causes us excessive amounts of stress and hassle over
liability, slander, copyright or other such complaints, these lists can and
will be shut down entirely. This is true regardless of whether there exists
some technical abstract legal right to which a person can find recourse to
justify his or her actions.
These lists are here because of the good will of real people willing to
volunteer their time and energy, not because of any abstract Constitutional
principles. If that willingness to volunteer is destroyed by individuals
who are not willing to be good list-citizens, so will be the lists.
2. You shall not flame each other. Please understand that a "flame" is not a
critical remark about someone's ideas; a "flame" is a personal and gratuitous
statement with no logical connection to the argument on hand. So, "I think
that your use of the Koehler method shows what a poorly-thought-out method it
is" would be ok; "only stupid, ugly people like you would even think of using
Koehler" isn't. Use your judgment and be civilized. Flames won't be
tolerated.
3. You shouldn't bicker about animal rights, the ethics of maintaining pets,
generalized environmental cases not directly bearing on a canine population,
pros and cons of vegetarianism, hunting, logging or any similarly tangential
topics. Discussions of the merits of PETA and similar organizations are not
welcome on conform-l. Recall, this is, first and foremost, a place for
people who show dogs. Any kind of dogs.
4. You shouldn't post anything blatantly commercial, and you can't plug your
own books, videos, and seminars. Brief notices of upcoming matches and
seminars are welcome. Pricing should never be mentioned. List an email
address for people to contact for further information.
Similarly, puppies or dogs should never be offered for sale on conform-l.
5. You better not talk about general pet training, such as lead-breaking a
dog, housebreaking, chewing, digging, jumping, or basic health issues.
These topics are better suited for individual breed lists, canine-l, or one
of the rec.pets.dogs lists.
6. You will not yack and chatter excessively. This list is for conformation
issues. Period. Messages which are sent to conform-l are transmitted to
everyone in the group--and that's an awful lot of people!
Personal messages such as "Hi, Katie; it's good to see your words again!"
should NOT be sent to the list. In general, if your reply wouldn't interest
anyone except the person to whom you're replying, send it privately.
Similarly, comments directed at a particular person (e.g., "Right on, Rhoda.
Good point," or "Thanks for the info," or "What a horrendous experience that
must have been. I don't know why people do such things," or "Hi, Jane,
I'm glad to see you've joined the list. Write to me," etc.) should be sent
PRIVATELY, NOT to CONFORM-L. Also, short general statements of approval or
disapproval (e.g., "Hooray! I'm glad someone finally said that!" or "I
can't imagine how anyone can believe such nonsense") should NOT be sent to
CONFORM-L.
7. You will not forward to this list any "urgent messages" or "dire warnings"
about alleged "computer viruses" or about allegedly impending government
legislation which will allegedly tax, censor, eavesdrop on, curtail, or
otherwise allegedly affect Internet communication. Many such messages carry
urgent requests to "distribute as widely as possible" and most look quite
alarming and tend to be quite lengthy. Almost ALL turn out to be hoaxes.
If you receive such a message and are concerned about it, please forward it
to the listowner ONLY, who will verify it and make a decision about whether
the subscribers to this list need to be notified on this particular forum.
WHAT'S NETIQUETTE?
Etiquette is how you should behave in the real world; netiquette is how you
should behave in the virtual one. The following aren't rules, but they'll
help make everyone in the electronic universe just a little bit happier.
Here are some guidelines:
* Remember that all reepicheep lists now have responses automatically
redirected back TO THE LIST, not to the individual who posted the
question or comment to which you are responding. So if you wish to
respond privately, you should type in the person's individual address
now, rather than using your "reply" function. Your "reply" function
will always send your reply to all subscribers to conform-l.
* DO send replies to the whole list when they contain information or tips
or even opinions from which all might benefit!
* But be VERY CAREFUL not to inadvertently send personal messages intended
for a single individual to the whole list.
* Do include your "call name" and your e-mail address at the bottom of your
posts, in case someone does wish to respond privately to your remarks.
Do this even if your software automatically puts this info in a "header"
because some other people's software automatically strips off headers, so
they don't see your name and e-mail address at the top.
* Try to keep your signature files brief; several lines long would be fine,
BUT EXTENDED ARTWORK, PHILOSOPHICAL SAYINGS, AND RESUMES SHOULD BE TRIMMED
to include just the more relevant points in a FEW lines, especially if you
post frequently. We really want these "signature" files kept BRIEF, no
matter how cute they are.
* Try to use informative subject lines in your posts.
* If you are replying to a previous post, don't include the full text of the
original letter. Include only pertinent information, or summarize.
On the other extreme, please don't reply to a previous post without *at
least* briefly summarizing the original question or discussion.
* Think carefully about what you are posting, since you never know who
might be reading your public posting. Negative comments about anyone
(e.g., judges) mentioned by name should not be posted publicly. Recall
the AKC does not approve of critical comments directed at their judges.
Anyone who is publicly criticized might be reading or a friend of the
person might be reading and could relay your comments to this person.
Depending on the circumstances, public criticism of a person could
potentially cause anything from a nasty response from other members to a
libel suit. Do you really want to be a test case for an electronic-print
law suit?
* Seminars, training methods, books, and anything else that is geared toward
topics on this list are encouraged to be reviewed. If you have negative
feedback, please keep the comments based on the methods, ideas, etc and not
on the author or person responsible for the product. E.g., Don't say that
Janice Brown is an abusive handler. You can disagree with the techniques or
ideas, but personal attacks are not welcome.
* If you are making a strong statement that is your opinion, you might want
to add IMO (in my opinion) or IMHO (In my honest/humble opinion) to the
statement.
* PLEASE let the listowner know if you intend to mention a reepicheep list
in a published article in a club newsletter or other publication. The
reason is because such "mentions" frequently lead to a large increase in
the number of subscription requests (which will make more work for the
listowner), especially if the publication where the "mention" appears is
widely distributed. Since all lists have a maximum of 400 subscribers,
and most are by application only, it will help us deal with administrative
workload better if we know in advance when to expect a large influx of
subscription requests.
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
Canine topics in general
------------------------
Several Usenet Newsgroup, rec.pets.dogs.*, are available at any of the
thousands of sites worldwide which have access to Usenet News.
Information about how to subscribe will depend on specific features
of your particular computer installation. Check with your system
personnel for information about subscribing to Usenet Newsgroups.
Individual breed lists and many other canine-related lists are housed on
various machines all over the world. The best up-to-date summary of these
is maintained by Cindy Tittle Moore and publicly accessible.
The list of all canine lists (including breed lists) can be accessed as
follows:
ftp rtfm.mit.edu, file pub/usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/email-lists
or
email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu, no/any subject line and in the body:
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/email-lists
The second option may take several hours to get a reply. I tried both of
these and they do work.
ADDRESSES ASSOCIATED WITH CONFORM-L:
Before sending a post, make sure that you are using the correct address.
There are three addresses associated with the CONFORM-L list.
1. listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
This address should be used to handle subscriptions (getting on and leaving
the list) and will automatically process well known list parameters sent to
it. Don't send questions that you expect a person to read to the listserver
address. This is simply a piece of software and software doesn't understand
anything other than a few commands and coughs up an error message (not always
clarifying the situation). Do NOT include a "signature" at the end of email
to listserver. Listserver will send you back an error message about your
"illegal command" (the signature) and it will cause extra work for the list
administrator. If you get hung up with a command, send a single line
containing the word HELP to listserver. Specific listserver commands will be
described in the next section of this file.
2. conform-l@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
This address should be used to send letters that you want distributed to
all readers of the list. Don't use this address to request to be removed
from the list or to complain your email has stopped. [Use the listserver
address when you want to change list options or when you want to be removed
from the list (see below).]
3. obedreq@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
This address is Mike Richman's personal mailbox. You can submit any
questions or problems that you need addressed by Mike (the list
administrator) personally. Just don't expect the immediate turnaround
that listserver can supply (if you understand how to use it). If you
have a subscription problem which can not be resolved by the methods
outlined below, use this address for more help.
4. arbitration@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
This is the alias for the arbitration committee. If you have a gripe about
list policy you would like answered, or would like clarification of a policy,
use this address. If you feel that someone is flaming you or stifling you,
email your complaint to this address. It might take a day or two for the
members to all confer on your question and get back to you.
HOW TO BE A UNIX WIZ IN ONE EASY LESSON:
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1. How do I APPLY TO AND SUBSCRIBE to conform-l?
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To apply for a subscription to CONFORM-L, you will need to do the following:
Email to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with the command
SUB CONFORM-L Your Name
where you insert you real full name for "Your Name" above. You will
then receive a note from listserver which says
"Subscription requests are not automatic for this list. Your request has
been forwarded to obedreq@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu for approval."
You must include your full first and last names and not initials or
aliases. If you feel that you are just too famous to use your real
name, CONFORM-L is probably not the right list for you.
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2. How do I UNSUBSCRIBE from conform-l permanently? (You'll be s-o-r-r-r-y!)
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To leave CONFORM-L proceed as follows:
Send E-mail to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with a blank subject line and the following command as the
first (and only) line of the message body:
signoff conform-l
or
unsub conform-l
*** Note there is no name used in this command since listserver KNOWS who
you are from your email address.
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3. Listserver tells me that I must CHANGE MY PASSWORD -- is that necessary?
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In a word -- NO. Listserver is very secure with the default password of
"WELCOME". However, if you still want to change your password, the set
password command syntax is:
SET CONFORM-L PASSWORD <old password> <new password>
fill in the variables inside the < >, but leave the brackets off.
For example, suppose I want to change my password on the list CONFORM-L
from the default of WELCOME to CHAMP. I would send email to
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with the command
SET CONFORM-L PASSWORD WELCOME CHAMP
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4. Well, just how do I POST, anyway?
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To send, or "post", a message on CONFORM-L so that it will be seen by all
subscribers, proceed thusly:
Once subscribed, send CONFORM-L postings as E-mail to:
conform-l@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
just as you would if you were sending E-mail to another person. You will
not normally receive any confirmation from the list that your posting has
been received, but you will a copy of your own postings as the default
setting on your subscription is "ACK" (read on...).
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5. How can I CHANGE MY EMAIL ADDRESS?
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Listserver will automatically capture your email address from the incoming
email. For 99% of you that will be perfect and you can ignore the following
command. If you must change your mail address, read the following VERY
CAREFULLY.
To change your email address, you might try the SET ADDRESS command.
Send to listserver the command syntax:
SET CONFORM-L ADDRESS <password> <new email address>
fill in the variables inside the < > but leave off the < >.
For example, say my password is set to the default of WELCOME and I would
like to set my CONFORM-L address FROM
mike@silly.pudunk.edu TO mike@podunk.edu
I'd send listserver the command
SET CONFORM-L ADDRESS WELCOME mike@podunk.edu
Note: You do NOT put your old email address in the command. Listserver will
capture that off of your email header From field. If that old address is
not the same as you subscribed from, listserver will not accept your command.
In that case, contact me at: obedreq@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
Note: Do not put your login name or any other invalid internet address in the
address field. Doing this cripples listserver and you will find yourself in
very hot water with the list administrator.
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6. Setting your account to SEE YOUR POSTS or not to see your posts
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As stated above, when your subscribe, your email is set to return a copy of
your post back to you. This is useful as a visual check that your email is
making it to the list. If you do not want to see you own posts, you can send
email to
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with the command:
SET CONFORM-L MAIL NOACK
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7. How do I POSTPONE my mail while I'm off gallivanting at shows or (gasp) on
a vacation?
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>From time to time you may find it convenient to halt the flow of incoming
CONFORM-L list mail without giving up your subscription to the list. This
may be due to a sudden surge in workload allowing little time to read list
mail, vacation, sabbatical, or a number of other reasons. One significant
advantage of this method over simply signing off the list is that, while
you will receive no incoming list mail when this option is in effect, you
preserve your privilege of posting to the list.
To halt the flow of incoming CONFORM-L E-mail:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with a blank subject line and the following command as the first (and only)
line of the message body:
set conform-l mail postpone
To restore incoming CONFORM-L mail service, repeat the above procedure
but send the command:
set conform-l mail ack
or
set conform-l mail noack
The first option gives a mail acknowledgement upon receipt of your message.
The second option skips the receipt acknowledgement.
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8. I'm drowning. How do I REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF MAIL?
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You can choose to receive archives of every 2000 lines or 12 hours from
CONFORM-L containing all the individual postings made that day. This will
be sent to you in a digest format. Selecting this option automatically sets
listserver for your CONFORM-L subscription, so you will not receive any
other list mail except the daily digest(s). You will still be able to post
to CONFORM-L in the normal fashion, just as if you were receiving the
postings as individual, in-coming E-mail. There will, of course, be an
increased time lag between the submission of a posting by a CONFORM-L
subscriber and the time you receive it in digest form.
To select the digest option for CONFORM-L, send E-mail to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with a blank subject line and the following command as the
first (and only) line of the message body:
set conform-l mail digest
To deactivate this option and once again receive each individual
CONFORM-L posting as a separate, individual piece of incoming E-mail,
proceed as above but send the command:
set conform-l mail ack
or
set conform-l mail noack
Note that setting 'mail ack' or 'mail noack' reverts your subscription
to near real time mail. If you wish to suspend list mailings to yourself,
you must still send the explicit command: 'set conform-l mail postpone'
as outlined above.
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9. Oops...My MAIL HAS STOPPED coming. Can I check my account status?
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Yes! Suppose your list mail suddenly stops. You can check to see if your
account has been postponed or any other list parameters by sending Email to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with the command
SET CONFORM-L
The listserver will send you back the following information
Current settings are:
ADDRESS = Your current email address
MAIL = Your current mail setting (e.g., ACK, NOACK, DIGEST, POSTPONE)
PASSWORD = Your current password
If your email has unexpectedly stopped and you note that ACK is set to
POSTPONE, mail to listserver
SET CONFORM-L MAIL ACK
to restart your mail.
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10. Well, just who's hearing me, anyway?
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If you want to locate the e-mail address for another CONFORM-L subscriber,
Send E-mail to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with a blank subject line and the following command as the
first (and only) line of the message body:
review conform-l
The listserver will return a full roster of subscriber names along with
their addresses. ONLY listmembers may access this information now.
----> One note of caution - the addresses that are returned to you by the
listserver are in uppercase characters. If a private letter is returned
because the address/user is unknown, then try resending the letter with
lowercase letters specified for the address. If you continue to have
problems, ask your postmaster or system administrator of your system. If
you still have questions, e-mail them to obedreq.
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11. Suppose I miss one or more mailings - can I get archives?
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Certainly. Users are now enabled to get their own archives. In other words,
if you miss a post, or a digest, or you are a new subscriber and would like
to read the old threads from the past 6 months, you can retrieve old archived
digests. These are stored by year and month.
Here's how to do this. Email to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
with the command syntax of:
get listserver <archive name>
leave off the < > and fill in the archive name syntax
This is a little complicated, as the archive name syntax is:
<groupname.year-monthnumber>
Here is an example of how to retrieve the archived digest for CONFORM-L
for May, 1995
get listserver conform-l.1995-05
ONLY the past 6 months worth of archives will be kept on line and available
for users to retrieve. This is due to disk space limitations. These
archives get quite large and listserver will automatically split them into
several files which will be Emailed to you.
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12. How can I get further help?
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If you send the command HELP to ANY listserver, either as E-mail or an
interactive message, you will receive a brief summary of other listserver
commands that may be useful. Any other requests or questions should be
directed to 'obedreq@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu'.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDS IN BRIEF
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Send all commands to listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu; the subject line
is irrelevant
unsubscribe: signoff conform-l or unsub conform-l
postpone mail: set conform-l mail postpone
resume mail: set conform-l mail ack
receive digests: set conform-l mail digest
review the list of subscribers: review conform-l
check listserver settings: set conform-l
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This welcome file was the culmination of much hard work by the "welcome"
committee. Thanks should be extended to Barbara Bicksler, Ruth Ginzberg,
Cathy Hines, Janet Lewis, Nancy Little, Peggy Madsen, Heather Nadelman and
Peggy Vaughan.
Cheers,
Mike Richman
CONFORM-L list administrator
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