XJ-Owners Mailing List Frequently Asked Questions
revised 2007-01-01
Please save and keep this FAQ for future reference. The latest revision is always available at http://www.tangedal.no/XJ/FAQ
NOTICE: By subscribing or continuing to subscribe to the XJ-OWNERS mailing list, you agree to be bound by this document.
1 How about some disclaimers?
2 OK, really now, what is XJ-Owners?
3 Who pays for it?
4 How do I subscribe to XJ-Owners?
5 Why do I see my own messages when I post to XJ-Owners?
6 What about "digest" and "mailing modes"?
7 How do I send a message to everybody?
8 How do I unsubscribe?
9 What if I'm changing my e-mail address or provider?
10 What can I send to XJ-Owners?
10a) List Archives
11 Are there some posting conventions of which I should be aware?
12 Who can send mail to the XJ-Owners mailing list?
13 What happens when I "reply" to something XJ-Owners sent me?
14 Who subscribes to XJ-Owners?
15 Are there other related mailing lists?
16 What else can Mailman do for me?
17 Does XJ-Owners support the World-Wide Web?
18 Are there any books on Yamaha XJ's?
19 What if this FAQ didn't answer my question?
20 How can I improve my e-mail skills?
1) How about some disclaimers?
Mail from this list is the exclusive responsibility
of the originators. It is currently operated by
Nils E. Tangedal and deputy Dave Harris for the benefit of those that ride Yamaha XJ model motorcycles.
To the greatest possible extent permitted by law, the
listowner disavows, disclaims and renounces any and all
warranty, obligation, liability, or responsibility for any
action, failure to act, debt, guilt, sin, or other consequence
which may arise from any usage, failure to use, or indirect
consequences to subscribers, their employers or employees,
agents, heirs or assigns, common carriers, or any other entity
which may in any way become involved with or impacted by this
mailing list.
You, the subscriber, by subscribing or continuing your
subscription, agree that the value of the e-mail discussion you
receive from this mailing list is fair and just consideration
and compensation for the obligations and limitations imposed
on you by this document.
The listowner doesn't promise you that anything at all will
happen. The listowner warns you that anything at all MAY
happen, and it's all your personal responsibility, not his
or anyone else's.
By subscribing or continuing your subscription, you agree to
hold the listowner and each and all individual subscribers,
their heirs and assigns, employers and employees, agents and
all other persons and legal entities harmless from any claim
or legal action which may arise from any usage of this mailing
list, to the greatest extent permitted by law.
This mailing list is run without consent, permission, or
knowledge of the corporations and/or other legal entities
which own the computers and Internet connections over which the
mailing list operates. These corporations and/or other persons
and legal entities share no responsibility or liability.
2) OK, really now, what is XJ-Owners?
The XJ-Owners mailing list is for discussion, general chatter,
chaos, ride reports and exchange of information generally
pertaining to Yamaha XJ motorcycles. Anyone is welcome to
subscribe. The list is not moderated, and is intended
for socializing among those with a common interest. Topics range
from the useful (maintenance tips) to the questionable (snow tire
availabilty?!?) and everything in between. Subscribers experience
levels range from the absolute beginner to the old and grey, and so
far have exchanged a lot of useful info. Please, do not post any
unsolicited advertisments, commercial posts, or SPAM.
3) Who pays for it?
The facilities and service for all these motorcycle mailing-
lists are provided generously by micapeak.com. H. Marc Lewis
(marcl@micapeak.com) owns and operates the micapeak.com domain
and pays all the associated costs: buying the hardware and
software, maintaining it, and paying all the necessary fees
to keep it connected to the Internet. He does this as a hobby
-- micapeak.com is definitely a non-profit deal. Once a year
(Jan/Feb) he solicits donations to help with the ongoing costs.
If you'd like to contribute, his address is:
H. M. Lewis, PO Box 14755, Spokane, WA 99214, USA.
4) How do I subscribe to XJ-Owners?
Visit http://www.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/xj-owners or
use the automated server software. Send mail to
XJ-owners-request@micapeak.com with no Subject: line and a message
body consisting of:
SUBSCRIBE
The list server software will pick your name and other necessary information from the message headers. You will be asked to confirm the subscription by return e-mail.
Please make sure ALL e-mails to listproc and to the list are sent
as PLAIN TEXT ONLY! HTML is not supported and will tend to generate
errors.
Also, make sure your e-mail service provider is a trustworthy one,
and also that you don't exceed your disk space allowance. Whenever an e-mail address cannot be reached, it "bounces" back to the list server. The list server software will automatically process the error and assign a “score” to it. Whenever your bounce “score” reaches a pre-set level, you will be unsubscribed.
If it happens to you, you will need to re-subscribe.
5) Why do I see my own messages when I post to XJ-Owners?
Because your mailing mode is set to “metoo”. See next question.
6) What about "digest" and "mailing modes"?
"digest" is one of several "mailing modes" of the list.
Your subscription is always set to EXACTLY ONE of these modes,
which control how and when you get mail from the list:
“metoo” - Undigestified list mail
You get back a copy of your own mail to the list.
(THIS IS THE DEFAULT)
“not metoo”- Undigestified list mail
You do NOT get back a copy of your own mail to
the list.
“digest” - Digestified list mail
You do NOT get back a copy of your own mail to
the list. Instead of receiving one e-mail message
for every message anybody sends to XJ-OWNERS,
you get two BIG "digest" e-mail messages per day,
with all the traffic since the last digest batched
up into one wrapper.
“nomail” - Your record stays on file, but you get NO mail
from the list. NOTE: it also doesn't "save up" the
mail while you're gone; you are simply ignored until
you re-set your mode.
You can set yourself to any one of these modes by visiting
http://www.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/xj-owners
7) How do I send a message to everybody?
Send anything you want to xj-owners@micapeak.com and your
message will be distributed to all subscribers.
Remember: PLAIN TEXT ONLY!
8) How do I unsubscribe?
Visit http://www.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/xj-owners or
send mail to XJ-owners-request@micapeak.com with no Subject: line
and a message body consisting of:
UNSUBSCRIBE
(No name is required - it's keyed on your address from the mail
header) NOTE: see below if you're just leaving temporarily.
9) What if I'm changing my e-mail address or provider?
Visit http://www.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/xj-owners
10) What can I send to XJ-Owners?
The charter of the group is given above in answer to
question 2.
This charter does not permit restriction of messages to
suit anyone's taste or job situation. As a rule of thumb,
anything you'd say in a biker bar to a group of computer
geeks is permitted. If that means that some folks must
un-subscribe for fear of their jobs, we'll be sorry to
see them go. This "freedom hall" approach cuts both ways,
however: If anyone wants to lobby the group and encourage
Political Correctness, this activity is also permitted.
The listowner does stipulate, however, that it's his ball and his bat. As administrator and chief bottle-washer for the software
which connects you fine folks to voluminous senseless drivel,
He reserves the right to make unilateral decisions about
individual subscribers or messages if he feels the need to
take action immediately. If you feel you've been unjustly
treated, refer to Question 1. Or get a life.
10a)List Archives
The list archives were started at Jan. 1, 2004 but are currently unavailable due to the list server software change. This FAQ will be revised as soon as the archives are back on-line. Meanwhile, the Mailman list archives can be found at http://www.micapeak.com/mailman/private/xj-owners/
11) Are there some posting conventions which I should follow?
The users of this mailing list should conform to the
Internet/NetNews convention of appending new material AFTER
the minimum quoted portion of the message to which the new
stuff refers. Please be courteous! Trim down the text from
the original message so that your reply includes ONLY the
minimum quotation necessary to establish context.
Habitual users of some PC mailers typically seem to have
a particular problem with this, often inserting 2 lines of
reply at the top of ~100 lines of quoted material. This is
irritating to readers of your message, who end up scanning
all that quoted volume looking for new material and not
finding any.
It is also considered good form on the Internet to have a
"signature" that reasonably identifies you. "CB Handle" style
screen names like AOL uses are NOT an example of this. A
particularly bad instance is when a new user blurts out a
request for information with no signature and only a screen
name; no information on location at all. This makes it very
difficult to respond to the info request without inflicting
the response on all the subscribers of the mailing list.
Many of the people on this list have been here a while, and over
the course of time have gotten to know each other well enough
that they truncated names or started identifying themselves
by some funny nickname or legendary feat. Even at that,
their address usually provides more complete ID and so this
approach can be acceptable. But to start up on the list with
nothing but a cryptic ID puts some people off.
You should remember also that many people are reluctant to
respond when a post comes only with an anonymous ID with no
name and little address info.
Many subscribers do not use email programs that support the use
of HTML formatting tags. This mailing list will strip the HTML from the message and deliver it as plain text. Any postings with attachments, "v-cards", etc. will be rejected. If you're having trouble with this, read the on-line Mailman documentation at
http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/users.html or ask the Listowner for help: xj-owners-owner@micapeak.com
And of course typing IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is considered to be
"shouting' by most folks here.
Also try to keep in mind that we are an international group here.
Try to communicate in ways that most of the list will understand,
but if you don't know what someone is saying, ask! In this way
we'll all learn about each other and help make the world a smaller
place.
12) Who can send mail to the XJ-Owners mailing list?
Participation of a *purely commercial* nature from the general
public is NOT welcome here, EVEN IF it's motorcycle-specific.
If you join in our chatter and generally behave like you're one
of the group, and you ALSO have a business which lets you answer
questions, respond to wanted-to-buy ads, etc. with commercial
information related to your business, then that's OK. But don't
send messages here just to make a buck. It's rude; this is a
SOCIAL mailing list. It's purely the Listowner's judgement call.
13) What happens when I "reply" to something XJ-Owners sent me?
Depends on your mailer. In general, using most mailers'
"REPLY" command will send your reponse to the entire mailing
list - NOT just to the originator of the message to which
you're replying.
14) Who subscribes to XJ-Owners?
As a Spam-suppression measure, the subscriber list is not published.
15) Are there other related mailing lists?
XJ-Owners is is hosted by micapeak.com which supports
a large number of other motorcycle mailing lists. To get
more information about micapeak.com and its other services,
please point your browser to
16) What else can Mailman do for me?
Several other features are available. Review the documentation at http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/users.html
17) Does XJ-Owners support the Word-Wide Web?
Yes, for example there's The Yamaha XJ Owners Page at the
| URL http://www.xjowners.com It contains some
good info and links to other places. We hope to add more info
here as the FAQ grows.
For the mailing list itself, most subscriber options, unsubscribe,
change address, etc. can be performed via the Web at:
http://www.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/xj-owners
18) Are there any books available on Yamaha XJ's?
J.C. Whitney has a Haynes Manual for '80 -'84 XJ650 & XJ750s.
Part number 16GJ7377X, catalog number 77J, code ccfgo, price
is $12.99-$19.99 (depending on *sale* status), shipping $3.98.
Phone number 312-431-6102.
19) What if this FAQ didn't answer my question?
Send mail to the Listowner: xj-owners-owner@micapeak.com
20) How can I improve my e-mail skills?
If you're genuinely interested in improving your e-mail skills,
I highly recommend a book:
Lamb, Linda and Jerry Peek, _Using E-Mail Effectively_, O'Reilly
and Associates, 1995, ISBN 1-56592-103-8
Order it from O'Reilly at 1-800-889-8969 or http://www.ora.com/
GENERAL ADVICE
What do you want to achieve?
Understand your medium:
- Remember that e-mail isn't like being there. People can't hear
your tone of voice or see your body language - hence the
development of the smile :-) and frown :-( conventions. But you
also need to think about your writing style and make sure that
your message conveys what you want to say clearly and simply,
without appearing angry, curt, whining, dictatorial, etc. unless
you intend to do so.
- Also remember the above when READING messages. Not everybody
has your superb writing skills, so give them the benefit of the
doubt and don't infer emotion or bad intent from somebody's
message without reality.
- Be sure you understand to whom your message or reply is
directed. Most mailing lists will send replies to ALL
subscribers, NOT just to the person who wrote the original note
to which you're replying. To quote an Lissa saying: "Mailing
lists are like picking your nose at a traffic light. You feel
like you're all alone, but everybody can see you".
Reach a receptive audience:
- If you want your message read and acted on right away, make
your point in the plain text body of the message itself, NOT in
an attached document. The world is changing in favor of the
latter, but it's not there yet, and many of us read mail at home
or on the road where it's much more difficult to deal with
attached documents.
- Use space intelligently. Even though you may have a wonderful
windowing system and cute mailer, not everybody does. Your
message is most likely to be enjoyable to everyone if each line
contains a newline/return after no more than 75 characters, and
you do NOT use any spiffy PC text "extra" characters, boldfacing,
HTML, etc.
- Use whitespace and paragraphs effectively. I have a very hard
time reading a solid two-page block of text with no paragraphs,
ESPECIALLY if it's in e-mail. Your message may get lost because
of how you presented it.
- Please be courteous and trim down the text from the original
message so that your reply includes ONLY the minimum quotation
necessary to establish context. Some users of popular PC mailers
seem to have a particular problem with this, sometimes inserting
2 lines of reply at the top of 100 lines of quoted material. This
is irritating to readers of your message. The Internet convention
is to append new material AFTER the quotation to which it
applies, often with multiple blocks of new stuff interspersed
with the quoted stuff. Thus, readers end up scanning all that
quoted volume looking for new material and not finding any.
Configure your mailer properly:
- Do NOT use "QP: or "Quoted Printable" options. This is a sneaky
and usually-ineffective way some mailers use to slip in PC text
characters. It just makes regular mail look ugly when read with a
mailer (like elm) which doesn't understand QP.
- Avoid using colors, fonts and other fancy features supported by
your mailer. If you want to make an elegant presentation, do it
in an attached document. Yes, "everybody" should be up-to-date
and use the same new whiz-bang mailer that you do. Are you more
interested in getting them to use the "correct" mailer, or in
getting your message across? If the latter, don't use all those
neat mailer features unless you're SURE that EVERYBODY in your
intended audience has them - you'll just annoy those who don't.