General Mailing List Information

Subscribing

To subscribe to the Ars Magica mailing list send an email with a blank subject field and

subscribe ars-magica

to

majordomo@csua.berkeley.edu

in the message body.

If you want to subscribe to the digest version of the list, instead send

subscribe ars-magica-digest

in the message body. The ordinary subscription will ensure that all the messages are sent to you individually. The digest option collects the messages together and sends them to you in a lump, at least once per day.

Unsubscribing

Please do not send unsubscribe requests to the list. Instead, send an email with a blank subject line and the body

unsubscribe ars-magica
or
unsubscribe ars-magica-digest

to
majordomo@csua.berkeley.edu

Record this information somewhere you won't lose it, so that if you get sick of the list, you will be able to leave easily.

Posting to the List

Problems

If you are having problems subscribing or unsubscribing, send an email to ars-magica-owner@csua.berkeley.edu. If you are having problems posting to the list, make sure that you are subscribed. The list is set to refuse any posts from people who are not subscribed, after a few unfortunate spamming incidents. If you still have problems, contact ars-magica-owner, as above.

Netiquette

• Be polite. Be very polite. Remember that the people reading your message cannot see your facial expression or hear your tone of voice, and have nothing to go on apart from the text of your messages in forming an opinion of you.
• If someone is insulting, remember that you cannot see their facial expression, hear their tone of voice, etc. Do not snap off an insulting email back: wait, cool down, and then politely question their position if it still seems necessary.
• Remember that hundreds of people receive everything posted to the list. If something is of interest to only one person, email it directly to them.
• Be particularly careful about criticising:
  • People's playing styles. If they enjoy playing that way, why should it bother you? You can say that you really enjoy playing differently, of course, but don't phrase it as a criticism.
  • People's English. Not everyone on the list speaks English as a first language, and spelling errors really aren't that important. This doesn't mean that you can't ask for clarification if someone's post is hard to understand, but don't ask by criticising their English.
  • Historical Inaccuracies. Not everyone is that bothered about historical precision in the first place. Of the people who are, some have degrees in Medieval History, so make sure that you are right. (Even if you have a degree in the subject. Especially if you have a degree in the subject.)
  • Religions. There are versions of historical religions in Ars Magica, and they come up for discussion. Do not use this as an opportunity to criticise contemporary religions, or take offence at discussions of fictionalised versions of the history of your religion.
  • Published Supplements. Treat published supplements as if they had been posted to the list, because the author is almost certainly here. Apply normal rules of netiquette to your criticisms.
  • The Secret Masters of Ars Magica. You aren't cleared to know why, just don't do it.
• Remember that some people have to pay for their email by size. If you quote someone else, cut down to the relevant bits. Do not quote a long message simply to add a couple of lines. (This is another good reason not to send binary attachments - such things tend to be large.)
• Be tolerant. People have bad days and forget the finer points of netiquette. Everyone is on the list to discuss a game we all enjoy, so we should be able to get along, shouldn't we?