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.

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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: ------------------------------------------------ 1. How do I APPLY TO AND SUBSCRIBE to conform-l? ------------------------------------------------ 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. How do I UNSUBSCRIBE from conform-l permanently? (You'll be s-o-r-r-r-y!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Listserver tells me that I must CHANGE MY PASSWORD -- is that necessary? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------ 4. Well, just how do I POST, anyway? ------------------------------------ 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...). ------------------------------------- 5. How can I CHANGE MY EMAIL ADDRESS? ------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Setting your account to SEE YOUR POSTS or not to see your posts ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. How do I POSTPONE my mail while I'm off gallivanting at shows or (gasp) on a vacation? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >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. ----------------------------------------------------- 8. I'm drowning. How do I REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF MAIL? ----------------------------------------------------- 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Oops...My MAIL HAS STOPPED coming. Can I check my account status? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------- 10. Well, just who's hearing me, anyway? --------------------------------------- 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. -------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Suppose I miss one or more mailings - can I get archives? -------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------- 12. How can I get further help? ------------------------------- 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'. ------------------------------------ THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDS IN BRIEF ------------------------------------ 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------