Thank you for your interest in SEELANGS, the Slavic and East European

Languages and Literatures discussion list.

 

This Welcome message contains:

    o Information on controlling your own subscription

    o List guidelines

 

Any Questions?  Write to:  SEELANGS-Request@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

SEELANGS exists to facilitate discussion of topics of interest

to teachers and students of Russian and other Slavic and East

European languages and literatures.  Use the list in furtherance

of that general goal.  But please, do not treat SEELANGS or its

members with disrespect.  Profanity is not welcome, nor is

language which demeans or belittles other people or groups of

people.  It is further expected that list members will conduct

themselves in a mature and polite manner towards fellow list

members.  "Flames" will not be tolerated.  The list owner reserves

the right to take any action he feels appropriate to ensure the

smooth operation of the list.

 

***** LISTSERV’S WEB INTERFACE *****

 

SEELANGS is an e-mail discussion list.  Despite casual references to

the contrary in popular use, an e-mail discussion list is not “a

listserv.”  “LISTSERV” is a registered trademark (of L-Soft,

incorporated) and refers to the server on which lists are hosted, not

to the lists themselves.  One LISTSERV server will typically host

numerous lists.

 

As a SEELANGS list member, you will communicate with the LISTSERV

server for a number of reasons, such as when you want to post to the

list, alter your subscription options, search the archives, or update

your subscription address.  There are two ways to communicate with the

LISTSERV server: 1) e-mail and 2) Web interface.  Instructions for

using the e-mail method are included in the relevant sections of this

message, below.  To use the Web interface, you will use your Web

browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc.).

 

The Web Interface can be found on the SEELANGS Web site, which is here:

 

http://seelangs.wix.com/seelangs

 

To utilize the LISTSERV’s Web Interface (which is only optional, but

recommended), you must register a LISTSERV password, which LISTSERV uses to authenticate you as authorized to perform whatever function you wish to perform.  To register your password, you will need to use your Subscription Address (the e-mail address from which you are

currently subscribed to SEELANGS) and a password of your own

choosing.  You can register a LISTSERV password here:

 

http://listserv.ua.edu/cgi-bin/wa?GETPW1

 

There is also a link to that page on the page of the SEELANGS Web

site called "LISTSERV Web Interface."  Should you ever forget your

LISTSERV password, don’t panic. Just return to that same page and

register a new one.  The new password overwrites the old one.

 

If you choose not to utilize the Web interface for sending routine

commands, you can use e-mail.  All LISTSERV commands are sent in the

body of e-mail (not in the Subject: line) to:

 

LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

The same one-line commands that you can send in the body of e-mail can

also be entered using the Web interface.  There’s a shortcut on the

SEELANGS Web site labeled “Send a Command.”

 

***** POSTING TO SEELANGS *****

 

To post to the list, just compose your message and send it to the list

address, which is:

 

SEELANGS@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

Whatever you send to that address gets sent back out to all

subscribers of the list.

 

Also, in general, whenever you post to the list, though not required,

you are encouraged to “sign” your submissions by including at the

bottom both your name and academic affiliation (if any), so that other

list members can know who you are and consider the source of your

words.

 

***** OPTIONS FOR RECEIVING SEELANGS MAIL *****

 

There are three ways to receive mail from the list.  You can alter

your subscription options using e-mail, as described below, or you can

use the Web interface.  Use of the Web interface assumes that you have

already registered a LISTSERV password, as described above.  Visit the

SEELANGS Web site, click on "LISTSERV Web Interface," and then click

on “Subscriber’s Corner."

 

1) MAIL - Each individual message is sent to you as soon as it’s

posted.  (On the Web interface, this option is described as “Regular.”)

 

2) DIGEST - All messages are bundled into just one, two or three

messages sent to you each day.

 

3) INDEX - A listing of the messages posted is sent to you just one,

two or three times each day.  You select from that listing which

messages you want to read.  (If using the Web interface, we suggest

using “Index (HTML format).”

 

-- MAIL --

MAIL is the default option.  When your subscription options are set

to MAIL, you receive one piece of new e-mail for every message

distributed on the list.  If you'd like to receive posts from the

list in this manner, you need not do anything; you're already set up.

SEELANGS averages about 15 to 20 posts per day.

 

-- DIGEST --

The second option is called DIGEST.  If, rather than receive 20 (or so)

pieces of mail from the list every day, you'd like to receive only two

or three pieces of e-mail in which are bundled all those 20 posts, send

the command:

 

SET SEELANGS DIGEST

 

in the body of e-mail to:  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

The number of daily DIGESTs you get will depend on how many posts

are sent to the list in a given day and how long they are.  Each

DIGEST will be no longer than 800 lines of text.  When LISTSERV

reaches that number, it sends out a DIGEST and starts the next

one.  In other words, the number of daily DIGESTs you get from

day to day will not be constant (but will likely not exceed three).

 

-- INDEX --

The third option is called INDEX.  If you like the idea of receiving

only two or three pieces of mail per day from the list, but don't want

to have to sift through all 20 (or so) posts, you can have LISTSERV

send you only a listing (index) of the posts distributed that day that

includes the message number, the sender, and the subject line for each

post.  Looking at the listing, you can then decide which messages you

want to read.  To read a message, you just click on the message number

and the post opens in a Web browser window.

 

If you choose to use this method, send the command:

 

SET SEELANGS INDEX MIME HTML

 

in the body of e-mail to:   LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

NOTE: If you choose to use this second method, you must also register

a LISTSERV password, as described above near the top of the Welcome

message. The first time you click to read one of the posts you will be

prompted for your subscription address and LISTSERV password.

However, once you enter that information and click the Login button,

your information is saved in a cookie on your hard drive and you will

not be bothered with that intermediate step again (unless you change

subscription addresses).

 

-- Switching Back --

Should you choose to use DIGEST or INDEX and later decide to switch

back to the default method of receiving list mail, send the command:

 

SET SEELANGS MAIL

 

(Hint:  SET SEELANGS NODIGEST or SET SEELANGS NOINDEX will also work.)

 

in the body of e-mail to:  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

NOTE:  Whenever you send e-mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU,

you can put anything you want in the Subject: line, or leave it blank;

LISTSERV ignores it anyway.

 

NOTE:  You must send a *new* e-mail to that address if you'd like

to use one of these options.  Replying to this message will not

work.

 

***** CHANGING YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS WITH SEELANGS *****

 

If you should change Internet Service Providers or otherwise get a

new e-mail address and you want your SEELANGS mail sent to the new

address, you do not have to re-subscribe.  There are three ways to go

about changing your subscription address.

 

The first, and easiest, method is to do it yourself using e-mail, but

it will only work if your existing subscription address is still

accessible and functional.  Using your existing subscription address,

simply send the command:

 

CHANGE SEELANGS your-new-address

 

(inserting your own new e-mail address) in the body of e-mail to:

 

LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

In reply, LISTSERV will send a confirmation message.  Confirm the

change, and it will be made.

 

The second way to update your subscription address is to use the Web

interface.  This method, too, assumes that your current subscription

address still exists and you can access it.  Assuming you’ve already

saved your LISTSERV password in a cookie, just go to the SEELANGS Web site, click on "LISTSERV Web Interface," and then click on “Subscriber’s Corner.”  In the “Your E-Mail Address” field, replace your current address with your new address and then click on “Update Options.” Once your subscription address has been changed, you will have to register a new LISTSERV password.

 

You should avail yourself of the third method only if you can't get

either of the first two methods to work for you (e.g., if you don't

have web access or no longer have access to your old e-mail address).

The third method involves asking the list owners for help.  Write

them at the list owners' address:

 

SEELANGS-Request@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

Explain that you would like your subscription address updated.

Remember to include your name and old subscription address in

your message.  The list owners will then update your subscription

address at their earliest convenience.

 

***** HOW TO STOP THE MAIL IF YOU’RE GOING AWAY *****

 

If you’re going away on vacation or will otherwise be away from your

computer for any period of time, you may want to stop the list mail

from coming while you're gone.  There are two ways to do it.

 

The easiest way is to use e-mail.  To stop the mail via e-mail, send

the command:

 

SET SEELANGS NOMAIL

 

in the body of e-mail to:  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

When you come back and want to start it again, send mail to that same

address containing the command:

 

SET SEELANGS MAIL

 

The second way involves making use of the Web Interface.  You will

have to have registered a LISTSERV password, as described above.  Go

to the SEELANGS Web site, click on "LISTSERV Web Interface," and

then click on “Subscriber’s Corner.”  Scroll down to the section marked

"Miscellaneous," click on the box next to "Mail delivery disabled

temporarily," and then click on "Update."  To start the mail up again,

just return to that  page, uncheck the box, and click on “Update.”

 

***** UNSUBSCRIBING FROM SEELANGS *****

 

If you should ever decide to leave the list permanently, you can

unsubscribe by sending the command:

 

SIGNOFF SEELANGS

 

in the body of e-mail to:  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

You can also unsubscribe on the "Subscriber’s Corner" page of

the SEELANGS Web Interface.

 

***** RENEWING YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO SEELANGS *****

 

Your SEELANGS subscription never expires and you will never be

asked to renew.  LISTSERV assumes that if you remain subscribed

then you want to remain subscribed.  However, every three months,

LISTSERV will check to see whether you're still receiving mail

at your subscription address.  If it detects a permanent problem,

LISTSERV will automatically remove you from the list.  Likewise,

if SEELANGS mail sent to you starts to bounce back as undeliverable,

LISTSERV will check to see whether the problem is permanent.  If it

is, or if more than 200 error messages are received, LISTSERV will

remove you from the list.  If you should ever find yourself removed

from the list against your wishes, you may simply resubscribe.

 

***** SEARCHING THE SEELANGS ARCHIVES *****

 

All messages posted to SEELANGS are archived and the archives can

be searched by any list member.  The easiest way to search the

archives is via the SEELANGS Web Interface.  Using your web browser,

go to the SEELANGS Web site and click on “Search the Archives.”

(Searches can be performed using e-mail, too.  If you have no access

to a Web browser, write the list owners for help with searching the

archives using e-mail.)

 

In addition, SEELANGS participates in the “Mailing List Project”

coordinated by The LINGUIST List.  That project, funded by a grant

from the National Science Foundation, involves centralizing

in a single location the archives of as many language-related

discussion lists as possible.  Among other things, it will mean

that archives from all those lists will be available to a single,

flexible search engine and a user will be able to initiate

a search ranging over multiple lists, including SEELANGS.  The

LINGUIST List archives page can found at the following URL:

 

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/

 

***** LIST GUIDELINES *****

 

The guidelines below are essentially a codification of net

etiquette.  They are designed to promote a virtual culture

which is considerate of list members’ time and resources

while at the same time is not wasteful of SEELANGS’ own

resources.  All list members are strongly urged to comply

with these guidelines.  No enforcement measures are currently

planned in connection with the violation of these guidelines,

but the list owners, at their own discretion, may contact

off-list people who violate the guidelines and request that

they comply thereafter.

 

***** USE OF THE LIST *****

 

There are many people subscribed to SEELANGS.  Most are instructors

or students of one type or another, and all of them presumably have

some interest in Slavic Languages and Literatures.  List members’

specific areas of interest vary, as does the knowledge they bring

to our discussions.  Please remember that every other list member

is deserving of your respect, and conduct yourself accordingly when

posting.

 

Specifically, remember that “Slavic Languages and Literatures” is

what brings people to this list, yet not every post will contain

a question or comment fitting neatly under that heading.  If you

are concerned that someone has posted something falling, in your

opinion, too far from the central purpose of the list, do not

write to the entire list to express your displeasure.  Instead,

first understand that there must be some amount of wiggle room on

a list like SEELANGS, as there will be small differences in what

subscribers expect to see here.  If you are new to the list, please

observe for awhile to see the uses to which most members put it.

 

If you must voice your opposition to the fact that a given subject

has been raised on the list, please write directly to the list

owners, as they will be in a position to take action, or explain

why taking action is not warranted.  The list owners can be

reached by writing to:

 

SEELANGS-Request@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

For purposes of clarification, please note that the discussion of

discrete political matters is not welcome on SEELANGS.  However,

as political and other concerns have influenced Slavic Languages

and Literatures, if posting on such a theme, use common sense and

recognize when your contribution has ceased to be about aiding

linguistic comprehension, and has begun to be purely political.

There are many other discussion lists and similar on-line discussion

forums that exist solely for the discussion of politics, and you

should not confuse SEELANGS with them.

 

***** PERSONAL REPLIES *****

 

Because each message sent to the list address is distributed to

all list members, personal messages and replies should not be posted.

If you wish to reply only to the original sender of a post, make

sure your reply is directed to that person and not to the list

address (seelangs@listserv.ua.edu).  If you wish to contact only

one subscriber, yet do not know that person's personal e-mail address,

do not use the list address to write him.  Instead make use of the

SCAN SEELANGS command or write the list owners for assistance.

 

Example:  SCAN SEELANGS Smith

 

VERY IMPORTANT:  When you just use the Reply feature of your e-mail

program while reading a SEELANGS post, your reply is directed back

to SEELANGS, *not* to the person who posted.  Your failure to

realize this fact is what gets most people in trouble when it comes

to sending personal replies to the list address.

 

***** QUOTING TEXT FROM ORIGINAL MESSAGES *****

 

Because all posts to SEELANGS are archived, and because disk

space is a finite resource, list members are asked to pay

close attention when they reply to messages on the list and

quote text.  Including portions of original messages is fine,

as long as it’s done to provide context for the reader and

is done selectively.  However, quoting entire original

messages within the body of replies, when the original messages

are more than just a few lines, is prohibited.  Not only

does it fill up our disk space with extraneous text, but

those list members receiving SEELANGS in DIGEST format are

forced to read through the same messages three and four

times.

 

***** ATTACHMENTS AND ENCODED MESSAGES *****

 

When sending messages to SEELANGS, please use only plain

ASCII text.  Do not attach executables or files, including

images or sounds.  Do not format your messages in base64,

MIME, or html.  Such formatting and use of attachments may

result in the archival of great amounts of unnecessary text,

which is a waste of our resources, and not all subscribers

use mail clients capable of decoding such things.  List members

who use Microsoft's Outlook Express should pay special

attention, as the default formatting with that program is

text/html, and a manual change in its configuration must be

made prior to posting to the list.

 

If you must post a small amount of text in the original Cyrillic,

please also include a transliteration using plain text, as not

everyone uses an e-mail program capable of decoding Cyrillic.

 

***** ADVERTISING ON SEELANGS *****

 

Since only subscribers have the ability to post to SEELANGS,

no outside entity will post advertisements directly to the

list.  From time to time the list owner receives requests

from vendors of Slavic-related merchandise to distribute

information about that merchandise to the list membership.

If the list owner determines that the information may be of

interest, he may forward it to the list if the vendor complies

with the following conditions:

 

The advertisement will:

 

 o briefly identify the company

 o briefly describe the product(s)

 o NOT contain any price information or dollar amounts

 o request that any interested parties contact the vendor directly for

    further information

 o contain vendor contact information

 o NOT be more than 60 lines of text

 

List members who wish to advertise businesses or products

in which they have a financial interest are discouraged from

doing so on SEELANGS if the businesses or products have

nothing to do with Slavic languages or literature.  If they

do have something to do with Slavic languages or literature,

list members are asked to comply with the above guideline.

 

NOTE:  The above guideline regarding advertising on SEELANGS

does not apply to seminar and conference announcements.

Such announcements may contain dollar amounts and, due to the

occasional inclusion of forms, may exceed 60 lines of text.  If

posting an announcement or including a form, please be sure to

insert your own “Reply-To:” tag in your out-going mail header or

write the list owners for assistance if you do not know how that

is accomplished.

 

Remember, please save this e-mail for future reference!  If you

delete or lose it, you can always grab a copy of the current

version of this Welcome message by sending the command:

 

GET SEELANGS WELCOME

 

in the body of e-mail to:  LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 

For your convenience, you can also find it on-line on the

SEELANGS Web site.

 

Virtually,

 

The SEELANGS management team - SEELANGS-Request@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

 - Alex Rudd

 - Robert Whittaker

 - Darren Evans-Young