Guidelines: MDList & MDForum
Descriptions
MDLIST is an e-mail discussion group for people who are affected by diseases leading to central vision loss. For more information, go to mdsupport.org/mdlist.
MDFORUM is a message board and chat room for those who prefer an informal, non-email format. Postings may include any day-to-day subjects. For more information, go to: mdsupport.org/mdforum.
Guidelines for MDList
1. Before posting a message to the open list, be sure that it would be of interest or benefit to several hundred people. All topics on MDList should relate to vision impairment in some way. If not, please use private mail or MDForum. Discussions about politics or religion have no place on MDList.
Types of messages which are acceptable on the open list:
- New member introductions
- Personal stories about experiences related to low vision
- Inspirational material
- Vision-related humor
- Information on research or latest developments
Remember, the reply button will send your reply to the whole list. To reply privately to the sender, change the MDList address to the sender’s.
2. Identify yourself by typing at least your first name and then your email address at the head of each message.
3. Avoid excessive quoting of previous messages. If a quote is absolutely necessary, pare it down to the fewest possible lines, and place it before your reply. Precede it with “You asked (or wrote)…”
4. Use “plain text” rather than rich text or other kinds of HTML. Messages sent in HTML may not appear as intended.
5. Do not send attached files to MDList. Such files will be automatically rejected to protect us from possible viruses.
6. Keep messages brief and to the point. Exceptions are first-time introductions and information about treatments or research. Lengthy articles, however, should be linked to, rather than posted in their entirety.
7. If you use a free email provider that attaches advertising to your messages, please consider purchasing the next level that will allow you to remove such tags.
Guidelines for both MDList and MDForum
1. Use meaningful subject lines to help everyone decide which messages to read. When you reply to a post, make sure the subject line is still appropriate to the “thread,” and do not hesitate to change it if needed. For the same reason, try to restrict each message to only one topic or question.
2. Avoid the use of ASCII art (happy faces, etc.) Some speech synthesizers just read them as a meaningless list of characters.
3. To avoid repetition of material, please visit our web site before posting informational questions. The site is very complete and contains a convenient search box on the home page, so many answers and links to information can be easily found there. We will, of course, be happy to help in any way if you are not able to find what you need.
4. Please be polite and tolerant. Rude behavior will result in removal from the group.
5. If you provide health or medical information in your message that is not based upon personal experience (i.e. anything you have undergone yourself), be sure to include supporting references and/or links.
6. To avoid conflict of interest, no commercial advertising (links, banners, content, etc.) is permitted as part of your message. Ads on MDForum are the responsibility of Delphi Forums and are not connected to MD Support in any way.
7. Do not post virus warnings until you have verified them. Many such warnings received by email are hoaxes, and by passing them along to others, you only add to their life span. Here are some places you can go to check them out:
Debunking online and email hoaxes
McAfee Associates Virus Hoax List