1) Please sign your posts at the end with both your name and your email address. Not everyone's system automatically shows the sender's email address. By adding your email address to the bottom of your post other members can contact you privately and not waste bandwidth on the list for private matters.

2) All posts must have topics in the subject line. Topic use is MANDATORY and only the official topic keywords should be used. Here is the list of topics:

ADMIN - List owner and list volunteer use ONLY
EVENTS - Shows, trials, etc.
DOGCHAT - Stories, updates, funny incidents, etc.
VETMED - Medical questions or info. Health info./problems.
RESCUE - Rotties that need homes, List, Rescue group info.
BREEDING - Pedigrees, breeding information, etc.
GENINFO - Where to purchase products, updates, Rottweiler news, stories, etc.
TRAINING - Behavior, Obedience, etc.
ALERT - Important news, Legislative updates, etc.
CONTEST - For special contests among our members.

For example, a cute story about a dog should say:
DOGCHAT: Ricky did a funny thing

A request for information on a health topic should say:
VETMED: Info on mange?

If you ever have any questions on topics please contact one of the listowners
Lori May or Kathi Wilson
BEFORE you send your post to the list.

3) Please pay close attention to the different addresses at APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM and use the right one for your purpose (they are not case-sensitive, BTW):

rottie-l@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM
use this to send your message to everyone on the list

listserv@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM
use this to subscribe & unsubscribe

PLEASE DON'T SEND SUBSCRIPTION CHANGE REQUESTS TO THE WHOLE LIST!

4) Please send private mail privately. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether a post should be public or private, but here are some examples. Also keep in mind that if only one or two people are going to be interested in it - it's definitely private email.

Private: "Hi Pat! Boy I haven't seen you in a long time. Do you still have that fantastic Chevrolet any more?"

"Pat, I'll meet you at the refreshment stand at 10:30 at the show tomorrow. Don't forget to bring pictures of your kids!"

ESPECIALLY THIS ONE --> "Congratulations!" or
ESPECIALLY THIS ONE --> "I'm sorry to hear it."
ESPECIALLY THIS ONE --> "Me, too!"

"I think Thor would be a great name" (in this case the original sender, who asked for a name for his dog, should get all the suggestions via private email and then post a summary).

Public: "I had that problem too when I was training my rottie to ____________. Here's what I did...."

"Here's a book (seminar, training tip, etc) that I found helpful..."

"Whoopee! My dog won third place yesterday in the pie-eating contest on the village green."
****Brags ARE very appropriate for the list; the follow-up congratulations are NOT****

Questionable -- be careful:

"I'd never buy a dog from so-and-so's line; I hear they're all crippled by the time they're 5 years old."

"I'd never show under such-and-such Judge; s/he can't tell a rear from a front."

"So-and-so isn't a reputable breeder; s/he really just runs a glorified puppy mill."

Under the "Questionable" category: If you post it to the list assume that it's public information and anyone can (and will) read it.

5) If you're going to be out of your office for a while, please make sure there is room in your mailbox for all your rottie-l mail which you'll receive while you're gone, or- set your subscription to NOMAIL.

Here's how:

Send a message to: listserv@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM. In the body of the message put

SET rottie-l NOMAIL

To resume your mail after you have set your subscription to NOMAIL do the following:

Send a message to: listserv@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM. In the body of the message put

SET rottie-l MAIL

Turn off "autoresponders" which automatically send send me messages saying that you'll be out of the office for 3 weeks (or whatever) every time rottie-l sends you a message.

6) Please try to keep posts on track. All posts must be related to dogs and should be related to Rottweilers in some way. Subjects that are NOT welcome on this list include:

- politics (except related to dog legislation)
- abortion
- gun control
- animal rights (including PETA)

Please keep all discussion civil. Profanity should not be used - remember that 600 people have 600 different values. Disagreements are fine (and healthy) but we will not tolerate name-calling. This is not and will never be a fully moderated list. The policy of this list is that any member who repeatedly violates list rules can be unsubscribed at any time.

7) Make sure your mail system does not send out acknowledgement messages for every posting from the rottie-l list-server. These messages generally say:

Confirmation of reading: your message -

Date: 17 Apr 97 18:01
To: ROTTIE-L@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM
Subject: GENINFO: Breeders in NY City Area

Was read at 17:51, 18 Apr 97

or something similar. These messages get sent back to the rottie-l list and are sent out to all the members. They are "junk mail" and will not be allowed. If you cannot turn this feature off of your system (ask your system administrator) then you will be unsubscribed.

8) Finally, the list owners have the right to set anyone to REVIEW at any time for any reason. A person set to REVIEW cannot post directly to the list. All their posts go to Lori for approval first. Reasons you may be set to review are:

flaming
personal attacks
off topic posts
posting about the "forbidden" subjects

If setting you to review doesn't work you will be unsubscribed from the list.
This is a private list; the listowners retain the right to unsubscribe anyone at any time.

9) Every post to the rottie-l list automatically receives this statement at the bottom:
All email sent through this list is Copyright 2003 by its original author. This means that you must ask permission from the original author (usually,but not always, the person that wrote the post) before you can repost the message to another list or print it in a newsletter or other forum. Please respect this copyright and ask first before you reuse anything from the list.

You can contact the listowners at any time for assistance with or questions about anything in this message:

Lori May (lorimay@mindspring.com)
Kathi Wilson