WELCOME TO VAMPYRES Congratulations! You are now subscribed to VAMPYRES, a list created for the discussion of Vampyric Lore, Fact, and Fiction. Before you jump into the vast, wonderful world that this list creates, we, as listowners, ask that you read over this document. We feel that the information contained here is vital to insure that you become a member of the VAMPYRES family. Posts to the List: To send mail to the whole list, send your message to: vampyres@the-institute.net Do not send commands (ie. unsubscribe, get, info, etc.) to this address. Send all commands to: majordomo@the-institute.net Remember to remove your .sig (if you have one) before sending your command. Unsubscribing: If you need to unsubscribe, or if your account is about to be canceled/removed, please send a message to majordomo@the-institute.net with a message body of unsubscribe vampyres Switching from Single Post Mode to Digest Mode: If you wish to have the Vampyres list sent to you in digest mode, please send a message to majordomo@the-institute.net with two lines in the body: unsubscribe vampyres subscribe vampyres-digest This will send mail in batches as one message for those who pay for their accounts by the message, or have mail quotas which can't handle the volume of mail that this list sometimes generates. Most subscribe/unsubscribe functions can also be taken care of through a web-based interface at http://www.the-institute.net/cgi-bin/majordomo Archives: Several files, including archives from previous days, are available from the majordomo server. To see a list of available files, send mail to majordomo@the-institute.net with a message body of index vampyres To get a specific file, use a message body of get Attitude: First and foremost--the people subscribed to this list represent an absolutely stunning cross-section of belief/value systems. Therefore, there exists the possibility that someone may post something (either as fiction or as part of a discussion) that you find offensive. We ask that you maintain an open mind about such things. Flaming list members simply on the basis of a difference in belief systems is an activity that will not be tolerated here. Fiction/"Fluff" Posts: Original fiction posted to the list (known as "Fluff," a term taken from other mailing lists) is both welcomed and encouraged. However, we do ask that you follow the following format for the Subject: line of any fluff postings... FLUFF: <Chapter of fluff, if applicable> This is done so that list members who sort their mail can do so more easily. Also, there are some subscribers whose mailers cannot handle large messages properly. So please, if possible, break longer fluff into chunks of 2-300 lines or so. Posting Limits: At one time, the amount of traffic on the list was high enough that a limitation of three list posts per person per day was imposed. Current list volumes are low enough that this posting limit is no longer necessary, however, should list traffic rise in the future, it is possible that this limit could be reintroduced. Appropriate Topics for VAMPYRES: As the name of this list suggests, this list is primarily concerned with Vampyres. As such, we do ask that the majority of the posts to the list be concerned with vampyres. Discussion of other Creatures of the Night (CotN) is also generally welcomed, so long as it doesn't actively "drown out" vampyric conversations. Furthermore, while it is recognized that many wonderful friendships have come about as a result of this list, it is asked that the non- vampyric sections of these relationships be kept off-list. Removal from VAMPYRES: There exists the possibility that we, as listowners, may have to unsubscribe you from the list. Most often, this is a result of list mail to your address bouncing. Other Things to Note: 1) CCing replies to the list The list is set up so that, by default, if you just reply to a post, the reply is sent to the author, not the list. This is done to reduce off-topic clutter. What some people do is reply to the author and CC (carbon copy) the list. Many people find this practice annoying. They will already get one copy of the reply from the list, there generally isn't a need to send them one personally. Thus, this practice is not recommended. 2) Chain Letters/Virus Warnings There have been many occasions where people have posted the above material to the list. Usually, it is done with the best of intentions--someone hears about a virus, and wants to warn people about it. Or they hear that some big company is donating something for each email received at a particular address. Unfortunately, these messages are almost always hoaxes of one form or another. The virus warnings are fake, originating from people who have nothing better to do than to see how many people they can panic. The "Good Times" virus is the best example of this. The "donation" letters are either designed to cause someone to be snowed under with mail, or were legitimate at one time, but have long since reached their goal. This is not to say that everything *will* be a hoax, however. If you get a message that you think is legitimate, please forward it to a listowner. If we find that it is legitimate, we will forward it on to the list. 3) "Lurking" and obtaining other list information To "lurk" is to be on the list and read the posts without actively posting yourself--a majority of the members of the list are lurkers. It is strongly suggested that new listmembers lurk for a week or two before posting, to get a better feel of the list. New listmembers should also be on the lookout for the Info Files, posted roughly one a month by the Mad Bibliographer (ckberg@ix.netcom.com). These files go into far more detail than this intro letter on subjects of netiquitte, Fluff posting, and the like. David Zeiger VAMPYRES Listowner dzeiger@the-institute.net James Payne VAMPYRES Listowner japayne@iupui.edu Drac VAMPYRES Listowner drac@tp.net Inanna Arthen VAMPYRES Listowner vyrdolak@net1plus.com