This list is a community of people who share a common interest in techno music. For people to get along there need to be a set of rules. This list also has a set of rules, nothing special but I would advise you to read this page carefully and above all: bookmark this site. This page is dived into two sections one section is about sending an e-mail to the list; part two is dedicated to the content of your e-mail and general behavior towards fellow list-members. If you do not agree to these rules please do not subscribe to [LOW].

About: Mailing to the list

To actually send email to the list, compose a message to lowlands@hyperreal.org regardless of whether you subscribed to [LOW] or [LOW]-digest. Please note that - EVERYONE - on the list will then receive this email (including yourself). Also be aware that this email is being archived and may very well show up in a search engine years after you actually wrote it. So be on your best behavior, realize that it's not only you who reads the mail but many more

You also need to understand that each email is being interpreted by EZMLM, therefore messages that contain EZMLM keywords may not make it to the list.

If you do not receive a copy of your post within a variable period of time then it probably didn't make it past EZMLM. The most common cause is a mismatch in your actual email address and what EZMLM thinks you subscribed to the list with. Unfortunately there is no way to know this since no error email is generated. The second most common scenario is that you tried to send email to [LOW] in something other than the plain text format. To prevent the spread of computer viruses and save on server space, [LOW] does not accept email with attachments nor does it accept email formatted using HTML. Lastly, the third most common cause of this is that at some point you have been unsubscribed from the list. This happens whenever EZMLM cannot send list email to your address, that is to say list traffic is bounced back to Hyperreal. This can happen for a variety of reasons all of which are out of my control (quota exceeded, email account deactivated, unable to lookup address, mailing list firewalls, and so on). Please contact your local system administrator before contacting me.

The one thing that is under my control is unsubscribing people that abuse the list. When posting to [LOW] keep the following rules of conduct in mind:

• Spam is strictly prohibited, [LOW] list subscribers are not marketing fodder.
• List subscribers are people, treat them as such, disrespective and disruptive behavior will not be tolerated
• List members are here for a reason, keep your posts on topic, using [LOW] as chat room is not permitted. Please note placing 'OT', standing for off-topic, or 'NRR', standing for not really relevant, in the subject line in no way excuses you from adhering to this rule.
• Do not attempt to steal another list subscribers email identity (and, yes, this has happened in past).
• Do not repost private email to [LOW]. Likewise do not reply to private email and 'CC' [LOW]. This is both illegal and highly unethical. Arguments belong in private email, not in email that is addressed to [LOW], check your 'To: ' and 'CC: ' email header fields carefully before sending out email - it may save you more embarrassment than you thought possible.
• Try not to swear. More and more corporate sites are using profanity firewalls resulting in fellow [LOW] subscribers behind those firewalls missing out on what you had to say. And above all cursing can be insulting to some people.

If you feel someone has violated the above rules you can send email to me (lowlands-owner@hyperreal.org) explaining the situation. Do not send email to the list complaining about the list. This has no effect since I don't always have the time to keep up with the [LOW] traffic. Try not to respond to obviously inflammatory postings, the best response is often no response at all.

If you do violate any of the above your account will be blocked from posting from to [LOW] indefinitely without warning (I am not interested in hearing excuses as I've already heard them all before).

If you do not approve of the above rules then simply do not subscribe to [LOW]. The list itself is not a democracy, yet it operates in a democracy. If you feel you can do better then I encourage you to try, ask for permission to set up your own mailing list on Hyperreal or use one of the free mailing list services such as OneList or eGroups to set up your own list. No one is trying to silence your voice.

Please note that most email systems have quota systems that you should respect. If you plan on leaving your email account unchecked for a lengthy period of time please unsubscribe from [LOW]. Failure to do so may result in you being unsubscribed regardless without the usual EZMLM automated response (your mailbox will be full so there isn't anywhere to store it).

Also please unsubscribe from [LOW] instead of simply forwarding your email to a new email address. Forwarded email addresses are very difficult to track down should anything go wrong.

Lastly bookmark this webpage, I do not have the time to manually tend to your [LOW] subscription requests and sending questions directly to the list about how the list operates is generally bad form

About: Content & Community

[LOW] content is not moderated and never will be, therefore we rely on [LOW] list members to 'self-police' [LOW] using the mechanisms described above. After some years [LOW] has become a community and should be thought of as such. Like any community [LOW] is only as strong as every member makes it. In that spirit we ask you respect the following principles:

• Leaving the community because of a perceived problem is never a viable solution (you know who you are). In time an unchecked problem will expand to affect all communities. If there is a problem with the list serious enough to make you want to leave it bring the problem to my attention instead of merely posting your goodbye.
• Complaining about trash in our streets only makes sense if you have made an effort to pick that trash up. Rather than simply posting complaints to the list your email is better directed towards me. Comments like "Why doesn't somebody do something about X?" are often answered by "Because the people who can do something about X don't know about it".
• Building a gate around the community is never the answer.
• Be a responsible member of the community. Responsible in the sense that you are the ultimate arbiter of what direction [LOW] heads in. You alone have the power to make the list a better or worse space to inhabit. Use that power wisely. Use it with restraint, and most importantly use it with a large degree of common sense.
• This list has a topic, a reason why we started it in the first place. Discussions who are not about this topic don't belong here, take them to another mailinglist.

That's all, you see nothing special. Unfortunate we had some problems in the past to force us to define this set of rules. Enough about this, let's get back to the music.

Klaas-Jan Jongsma
(lowlands-owner@hyperreal.org)