Brin-L, the David Brin Mailing List, exists for the discussion of matters pertaining to the writings of David Brin and any other topics of interest to list members.

These are the guidelines that our members are requested to abide by:

• Keep the subject header appropriate to the contents of the message.
  
  
• When replying to a message, don't quote the entire message but only quote the relevant part(s) of it.
  
  
• When replying to a message, place your reply *below* the quoted part of the message to which you are replying. The technical term for this is "bottom-posting" (as opposed to "top-posting", where replies are placed above the quoted message).
  
  
• When replying to a message, remove the lines that were added to the bottom of that message by Topica.
  
  
• Keep attributions correctly assigned to the original poster.
  
  
• Be tolerant towards topics that don't interest you. You may not be interested in discussing a specific topic, but other members may.
  
  
• Give each other the benefit of the doubt. If you think you've been offended, read the offending message… again… ALOUD… TWICE! Consider that there may be a milder way to interpret the remark. Then ASK the author of that message if he or she meant the worse version and accept his or her explanation. Ask others how they saw the message. The word is "Paraphrase".
  
  
• It's not possible to send attachments to the list. If you have files you would like to share, put them on a website and post the URL, or inform the list that you will send the files off-list to interested parties.
  
  
• Don't quote entire articles from other sources. If you find an article somewhere that you think might be of interest to listmembers, only post the URL and a very brief summary of the article.
  
  
• If your reply is more appropriately directed only at the original poster, don't send it to the entire list.
  
  
• Spam (unsollicited e-mail, often of a commercial nature) is not welcome; addresses from which spam is received will be unsubscribed immediately and permanently.
  
  
• Personal attacks, flame wars and such are not welcome and will not be tolerated. If you disagree with someone, attack the argument, not the poster.
  
  
• The List Owner has the right to take appropriate action against members who engage in personal attacks, flame wars and other such behaviour, and against members who otherwise do not behave like members of a civilisation. The rule of thumb here is: first offense will result in a public warning, second offense will result in having your posts moderated for a month, third offense will get you removed from Brin-L for a month, fourth offense will lead to your permanent removal from Brin-L.
  
  
• We will further endeavour to remember, as David Brin says, to "Remind yourself, now and then, to say the following phrase: 'I am a member of a civilisation' (IAAMOAC). Our society has its flaws, but if you ponder history, and cantankerous human nature, it's astonishing how far we've come. We just don't say IAAMOAC often enough…"