Adult Attention Deficit Disorder - Focused (AADD-FOCUSED) list explanation and "RULES"

This is what I received by e-mail when I first subscribed to the AADD-FOCUSED mail list. If you receive anything different when you subscribe, please send me a copy so that I can update this page. To do this, select the entire message and copy it to your clipboard, click here and then paste your message into the body of the new message created by your browser. Thank you.

Please note that I have nothing to do with the maintenance, operation or rules of this list, I am just a subscriber. The list owners are also subscribers but maintain a very low profile.

-- Balance Check 10/18/98

Subject: Re: subscribe   You have added to the subscriber list of: AADD-FOCUSED@MailList.Net   the following mail address: Balance_Check@bigfoot.com   By default, copies of your own submissions will be returned.   This is an automated subscription mechanism. For your verification, a transcript of the original subscription request is included below. If the wrong address has been subscribed and you seem to be unable to fix it yourself, reply to this message now (quoting it entirely (for diagnostic purposes), and of course adding any comments you see fit).   ABOUT The AADD-FOCUSED List: The AADD-FOCUSED mailing list is a focused discussion list for Adults that have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Although there are other forums available for discussion of ADD related topics, we found that they are often too inclusive and therefore get so many messages per day that we couldn't stay focused long enough to read them all. Therefore we created this list specifically for those who wish to read fewer messages per day on the subject of Adult ADD. As an example, there is another ADD mailing list for adults, where the FAQ states: "You are welcome to tell your story and to ask for help on any aspect of ADD or life in general: family, work, food, music, socks, cats...ADD affects them all. Don't worry about the length of your messages. If you feel a need to say it, we want to hear it." While this is great for those who love to write about all aspects of their personal life, it is very difficult for those of us who simply want to find valuable information about adult ADD to wade through all those marginally-relevant posts and stay focused enough to find information that is truly helpful and relevant. So in this group, we ask that your postings have a more direct relationship to ADD, and we do ask that you try to keep your posts to a reasonable length. [You also are asked to limit the number of postings you make in a day on this list to two; while this rule is not "hard and fast" it is important that the volume on the list not grow to overwhelming proportions. - added by Balance Check from postings of list moderator.] In order to maintain a tighter list, we ask that you NOT discuss the following in this group: CHILDREN and ADD. This group is about ADULT ADD. Please use one of the other groups if you have questions or comments related to kids and ADD. It is okay, however, to mention the impact that ADD had your life in your pre-adult years, as long as it is relevant to a discussion about Adult ADD. Other conditions that are not ADD related. It is okay to ask if people with ADD seem to be more or less susceptible to some condition, but it is not okay to then enter into a lengthy discussion about that other condition. Interpersonal relationship problems that are not ADD related. Politics or religion, unless they are CLEARLY ADD related (for example, the view of a church on ADD may be relevant, their view on anything else is NOT). (We are not against these things, but there are other forums for the discussion of these topics, and nothing can start a "flame war" as fast as general discussions of politics and religion.) DEFINITELY no poetry, discussions about favorite songs, TV shows, opera, cars... you get the point. This is not a group where you are encouraged to share your creative talents (unless your talent is writing about Adult ADD in a clear, concise manner) - there are plenty of other groups out there for that. Any topic that has been declared off limits by one of the moderators. From time to time, we may specifically request that no more messages be posted in a particular message thread or on a particular subject, even though that topic is not otherwise specifically mentioned here. We make these requests to keep the list running smoothly and with a minimum of friction. If you feel that you, rather than the list moderators, should have the final say as to which topics are appropriate for this list, then please DO NOT subscribe. We also ask that you do not use excessive quoting when replying to messages posted by others. Please be selective if you quote; do NOT quote entire messages and do NOT quote signature lines, or any lines appended by the mailing list software to the bottom of each message. Please do not include attachments of any type with messages that you post to the list, and do not use "styled text" or "HTML text" or "Rich Text Format". Use plain text only for messages you post to the list (you may have to change the settings in your e-mail software to do this). Many of the subscribers to this list do not use the same e-mail software that you do, and when they read your message any attachments will appear as garbage embedded within your message.   HTML enhancements is also described as stylized text. While bold and italics as well as different fonts can aid in communicating with some, for others they really show up as very confusing. (If you want an example of very confusing, try viewing this page as source code (under the "View" menu of your browser. For those who have browsers that don't handle HTML, that is what your e-mails will look like.) This means set your mail message preferences to "Plain Text" or take the check mark out of the box infront of "Send HTML" in your preferences. If your messages show up looking different from those posted by others, you probably are using stylized text. One sure tip-off is if someone responds to your message and you see a bunch of garbage in the quoted area. This will only happen if they quote your entire message rather than just the part they are responding to. [Note: This explanation paragraph added by Balance Check.] Should you ever decide that you do not wish to be on this list anymore, do NOT post a message TO the list asking to be unsubscribed FROM the list. This does not work, and simply annoys list readers. If you do this and we wind up having to remove you from the list manually, you will not be allowed to resubscribe in the future. The instructions for unsubscribing will be found at the bottom of this message. The types of discussions that we DO encourage include how to tell if you have ADD, how to get diagnosed, how to get your ADD diagnoses and/or medications covered under your insurance plan, adult ADD traits, and perhaps even sharing personal experiences with the intent of helping others. Before posting, we ask you to consider these things: Is my post consistent with the guidelines stated above? This list is being read by busy people who may have difficulty staying focused. Will my post convey something useful to them, or will it just cause their eyes to glaze over? Can I say what I need to say in a more concise manner? Does my post contain anything that will be helpful to others, or am I just writing it for my own self-gratification? Is this an administrative request that could be better handled by one of the list operators (Paul Timmins (paul@timmins.net), or Thom Byxbe (byxbe@content.net))? Please consider these questions, and don't post your message if you come up with the "wrong" answers. Of course, asking for help or advice is okay, but please understand that most of the participants on this list are not medical professionals, so you should NOT rely on any medical advice you may receive from a list participant. The biggest problem that some Adult ADD'ers have is staying on topic and not jumping off into tangents that have nothing to do with the subject at hand. Please try not to cover several unrelated topics in a single message; it is very distracting to readers. You will be PERMANENTLY REMOVED from this list if you do ANY of the following: Post advertising messages (commonly known as SPAM) to the list. This does not necessarily preclude any mention of a commercial venture that a list participant may be engaged in, nor does it prohibit discussing a business activity in which the poster has no financial interest, provided that such messages are otherwise on-topic for the list. Forward off-topic messages to the list from other sources, particularly those that you have been asked to forward as widely as possible. No matter how urgent a message may appear to be, if it is off-topic for the list we don't want it forwarded to the list. Further, many such messages turn out to be hoaxes or "urban legends", and therefore they tend to generate many responses that are also off-topic. In particular, do not under any circumstances forward messages about computer viruses, money-making schemes, financial appeals, tourist warnings, recipes (unless directly related to the list topic), or anyone who is attempting to set some sort of world record and is requesting help from Internet users. For more information, please see either of the following Web pages: - - http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html - Internet Hoaxes - - http://kumite.com/myths/ - Computer Virus Myths Home Page Also, do not under any circumstances send chain letters of ANY kind to the list (see the message from the United States Postal Inspection Service at http://www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect/chainlet.htm). Post a message containing gratuitous profanity, or extremely insulting and derogatory language directed toward another list participant or the list owner or moderator. You may disagree with what someone else has posted, but we ask that you be polite and respectful toward others whenever you post to the list, and we reserve the right to remove those who post unnecessarily abusive messages, or messages containing any kind of real or implied threat. Assist a user who has already been permanently removed from the list in receiving messages from this list, or posting messages to this list. You do not need to quote the banned user verbatim in order to violate this rule - if you convey to the list the thoughts or writings of someone who has been banned from the list, even if you paraphrase those thoughts, you may also be banned. Go out of your way to annoy the list owner or a list moderator, especially if you do so via a message posted to the list itself. This list is semi-moderated. This means that you may post to the list as long as you are a member, but if you persist in posting messages that violate these guidelines you may be removed from this list. In connection with that we should mention that this is a private mailing list, which is to say it's not a public park or other "commons" area where the First Amendment applies. We reserve the right to remove anyone from the list for any reason, but in practice we won't do this unless you persist in posting off-topic messages, or post one of the types of "prohibited" messages listed above. If you have a problem with any of the above, please do not subscribe to this list. Note that if you have been removed from this list by the list owner, a list moderator (if any), or the list admin, any further attempt to access the list by any method (including but not limited to the use of another e-mail account) will be considered unauthorized access of a computer system, and may subject you to civil or criminal penalties. When posting to the list or unsubscribing, the "From:" line of your message MUST contain EXACTLY the same e-mail address that you used when you subscribed. If it contains any other address (or even a slight variation of the address you used when you subscribed), your message or unsubscribe request cannot be processed by the list software. [e-mail method*] TO SUBSCRIBE: Send E-mail to: AADD-FOCUSED-Request@MailList.Net On the Subject line put: subscribe TO UN-SUBSCRIBE: Send E-mail to: AADD-FOCUSED-Request@MailList.Net On the Subject line put: unsubscribe THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING!

[The following was added by Balance Check - It is not in what is sent in response to initial subscription - but is at the end of most postings that you receive and includes the URL to go to an automated subscription server where you type in your e-mail address to subscribe / unsubscribe. This is especially valuable if you have changed e-mail addresses and your posts or unsubscribe commands are not working.]

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Final notes: I am not the person who made up or controls the rules listed above. I am a subscriber to the list. Please do not write to me because you disagree with these rules since I have absolutely no say about them. Please do write to me if the information you receive when you subscribe is different from what is shown here so that I can update this page.

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