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Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why do my posts sometimes take a long time to reach the list? So you don't believe in "telling it like it is?" Do posts get rejected if they offer bad advice? Why didn't my post show up on the list? What do all those initials mean? Like LOL, VBG, etc? Will I get spam because I join a list? Why can't I access the website?
I'm getting too much e-mail since I joined the list! What can I do? You can change
your options to receive digests of 25 posts just a few times
a day. Send a blank e-mail to To stop your e-mail entirely and just read the list on the website, send a blank e-mail to Petdogs-L-nomail@yahoogroups.com. Then to read the list, go to the Petdogs-L website at Yahoo and click on Messages. To re-set your mail to receive individual e-mails, send a blank e-mail to Petdogs-L-normal@yahoogroups.com. Though we hope you won’t leave us, you can unsubscribe by sending a blank e-mail to Petdogs-L-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. All of these functions can also be performed at the Petdogs-L site at Yahoo. The best overall solution we have found is to set up message filters (also called rules or folders) inside the email program. When the message comes into your email box, it is routed to a separate Petdogs-L folder. That way it isn't mixed up with the note from Aunt Sophie, the urgent virus warning that annoying friend of yours sends every day, or the letter from your boss confirming your raise. Look in the HELP file of your email program for words like FOLDERS, RULES, or FILTERS and set it up to direct any mail that has Petdogs-L@yahoogroups.com in the TO line. Why do my posts sometimes take a long time to reach the list? Petdogs-L is moderated. That means that before your post reaches the list, it is read and approved by a moderator. Depending on the time of day you send your post, it may be some time before it is read and approved. Be patient! Petdogs-L was designed as a completely safe place to ask even the "dumbest" questions...and get polite answers. The only way we know to guarantee that is to moderate the list. If a post is rude, snippy, or condescending, it doesn't go through. We believe in purely positive training for owners--the theory being that someone who gets insulted or berated will not stay on the list to get the help he or she needs. It's okay to disagree, but do it politely. So you don't believe in "telling it like it is?" In a word, no. Not everyone knows a lot about dogs. Many of us learned what we do know back in the days when you rubbed a dog's nose in his "accident" and most dogs were allowed to run loose through the neighborhood. No matter how stupid the question seems, if someone cares enough to have joined Petdogs-L, that person deserves respect and a chance to learn. If you insult someone or hurt her feelings, she leaves the list (quite understandably) and her dog suffers as a result. We've seen too many people hurt on other lists as a result of asking a question that could have been answered helpfully. Do posts get rejected if they offer bad advice? We don't reject posts for incorrect content, repetitious content, or anything else along that line. The only exception might be if someone asks, "Where can I get XYZ Lotion?" and 15 people respond with the exact same answer. In that case, yeah, we would probably let one or two through and just delete the others. If someone gives what we consider bad advice, we still send it through ...we certainly don't always know the answers, and we're confident some of the many talented folks we have on the list will tactfully explain why they disagree. That's why it's usually best to get several answers before you act on a solution to a problem...on the internet, there are experts and there are wannabe-experts. But the beauty of a list is you get lots of ideas. And some of the best ones come from "just dog owners," so don't be shy about contributing! We never edit a post. We send it back to you to edit if necessary. We will remove a commercial signature file, or send it back to you to remove. As it says in the welcome message, you may put the name of your (dog-related) business in your signature, but no message like "Call us for the best prices" "Start your own business" etc. If you don't edit or censor, why did it say "non-text portions have been removed" at the bottom of my post? The note at the bottom of some posts that says "non-text portions have been removed" is put there by Yahoo. Petdogs-L does not accept attachments or HTML/richtext etc (the stuff that lets you use fancy fonts, stationery, etc.) So if you send something like that, Yahoo strips it off and puts that note at the bottom. That's all that means. The most common reason for you to get a post back is that you didn't trim...if you're replying to a list message, be sure you delete most of the original post. The people who receive the list in digest format become really irate when they have to read every post five or six times because it's still attached to the replies. If you don't know how to trim, drop me a note and I'll help. The second most common reason we reject posts is for not changing the subject line. Not everyone has time to read every message, so if your subject line says, "Digest 850" it's liable to be deleted unread by a lot of people. And finally we very, very occasionally reject a post for tone or attitude. Usually we just ask that you take out a sentence or reword something -- the best test for your post is: How would I react if I received this from someone else? If it comes across as condescending or rude, re-work it! Why didn't my post show up on the list? If a post disappears
without getting to the list and you don't get a note back
from us explaining why, it was either lost by Yahoo or: 1)
a crosspost/forward (joke, story, warning, notice etc from
another list) Otherwise you'll get a note from us asking you to edit it and resubmit or explaining why it's not suitable for Petdogs-L Give it about 12-16 hours before you consider it lost. That allows not only for Yahoo's occasional lapses but for your moderators to get back home from the vet! What do all those initials mean? Like VBG, LOL, and ROTFL. E-mail is a difficult medium sometimes. Something you would say with a grin or a shrug is read as being serious or taken much more harshly than you intend it. Over the years internet users have developed a sort of shorthand to let readers know how they mean a statement. VBG - Very Big
Grin Another way to communicate feelings is through emoticons, such as: : ) Smiley face For more abbreviations and a list of emoticons, check out the Computing Corner website.
Why can't I access the Petdogs-L website at Yahoo?
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