Re: As Mickey would say, administrativa...

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

In a case of convergent thought, Jonathan Wagner wrote about trimming
messages, html trailers, etc.  I was also preparing to write about this and
more, relating to talking turkey on the Dinosaur List. 

>From Jonathan:
>  reader of the topic. Really, there is an archeive, in an emergency, we can
>  all go back and find the message.
And here it is:
http://www.cmnh.org/fun/dinosaur-archive/

For those folks smart enough to be able to subscribe, but not smart
enough to remember (write down and save?) how to unsubscribe without
sending the message to the entire list:
http://www.cmnh.org/fun/dinosaur-archive/information.html 

http://www.cisab.indiana.edu/~mrowe/dinosaur-administrivia.html 
for everything you may want to know about the list.

As Mickey so eloquently writes in the preamble:
> For nearly a year this list was moderated. Currently it is not moderated,
but 
> that does not mean that there is a free-for-all here. I'm all for free
speech, 
> but this list was created for a purpose -- to give people a forum for the 
> scientific discussion of dinosaurs. If your messages are counterproductive 
> to that purpose, your privileges to submit messages can and will be revoked.
That means _scientific_ discussion of dinosaurs.  This is not a chat room.
_No_ creationism, no fossils for sale, no time travel.  Dinosaurs.

It would also help some misguided posters to read the old "moderation
rules of engagement" at
http://www.cisab.indiana.edu/~mrowe/dinosaur-moderation.html

To wit (edited):
> 1) If a message contains nothing other than how a previous message makes 
> one feel, it will get rejected. 
Please take yourself out of the post and put scientific facts and references
in.
We are all here to learn and exchange new information.  

> 2) If I feel a point has already been covered by a previous message 
> (irrespective of who wrote the previous message), the subsequent message 
> will be rejected.
If you have nothing new to add, please don't send a message.  Write 
your mom instead.

> 3) If a message contains too much text from previous messages with 
> only slight additions by the person submitting the current message, it 
> will be rejected. 
At least on AOL, if you just highlight the entire message before hitting
reply, you can comment on what you want and delete the rest.  If you think 
that you are intelligent enough to be on this list, you should be able to 
remember what has been previously said. 

> 7) If I feel a particular message is of interest only to one or a few other 
> individuals, I will forward that message to those individuals instead of to 
> the list. 
Please consider whether or not the whole list needs to see your reply.

> 8) Although topics may be allowed to drift, a message will be rejected if it
> is not at least tangentially about dinosaurs (or at least about
paleontology) 
> and if it doesn't bear on the scientific content of a previous message.
[Jokes
> okay if labeled as such.]

Many of us found this list by searching the discussion group lists on the
web.  This is a list for the _Scientific Discussion of Dinosaurs_:
>   Contact: listproc@usc.edu
>   Purpose: Volume ranges from a few to maybe a dozen messages a week.
>   We also discuss flying & swimming archosaurs and other animals of
>   that period as well as earlier and later periods.  Most participants
>   are not paleontologists but some are extremely well-versed.
We have had quite an alarming drop in participation by the professionals,
which has hurt the list's content.  Please do not be the cause of another one 
leaving the list because of a dumbing down factor.  If you don't know, ask
a question.  Please don't make things up.  I could say that _Titanosaur_
babies hatched wearing feathered tutus, but I had better be quoting Chiappe,
Dingus or Coria on this.  

Mary
mkirkaldy@aol.com
Dino List Deputy