The dos and don't of posting on the main EPUK discussion list
By following a few simple guidelines, you can ensure that your posts on the main EPUK discussion list are on-topic, clear, and not overly long.
Keep it on topic
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DO POST ABOUT: the business of editorial photography, magazine, newspaper and publishing contracts, usage rights, editorial assignment fees, editorial stock fees, copyright and related issues. |
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DON’T POST ABOUT: Techie issues about equipment, software, or anything not related to the business side of photography. |
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Make EPUK the only recipient
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As one of our spam prevention measures emails with multiple recipients are rejected. So only send your list email to the list address epuk@epuk.org. No CCs or BCCs either. |
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Have an appropriate subject line
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DO: If you are posting a question, or the first message, choose an appropriate subject line.
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DO: If you are replying to an existing post, keep the original subject heading in your reply unless you are moving the discussion to another area, in which case put the old subject line in brackets (eg “PR agencies in London (was Acme PR)”
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If you are on the Digest, remember to change the subject line when replying from “EPUK Digest” to the relevant topic.
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DON’T send a ‘no subject’ message, post with a vague subject line (eg “Help!”), or keep “EPUK Digest” in the subject line. |
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There are a limited number of excuses for writing in text speak. These include: you have recently suffered a severe blow to the head; you are a thirteen year old girl; or you don’t want to be taken seriously as a professional. If none of these apply, then write in plain english.
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Quoting
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DO: Edit your messages to be concise.
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DO: When quoting a previous message only quote the relevant section before your reply in Internet standard (>) quote marks. |
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DON’T quote the whole message. If you subscribe to the daily digest ensure you do not quote the entire days postings and have the correct subject heading for the mail you are replying to. |
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Off list replies
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You can ask for off list replies, but if you do so, make sure your email address appears in the body of the email. |
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HTML and attachments
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DO: You can send a post to EPUK in plain text or html, but since all HTML formatting is stripped out anyway, it is usually better to post in plaintext. |
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DON’T send attachments – they will be stripped out, or may mean your post doesn’t get through, depending on their size. |
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Identify yourself
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DO sign your posts with your real name and e-mail address. Email signatures are allowed as long as they aren’t overly long – five lines is usually enough |
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DO declare any financial or other interest you may have in a topic by mentioning it in the opening paragraph of each post you make on that topic.
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DON’T have a confidentiality clause in your signature. That makes your signature overly long, and EPUK posts are confidential anyway: it’s one of the list rules.
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Swearing and abuse
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Help us keep EPUK a polite list.
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DON’T use or quote swear words. Remember: every time you swear, God kills a kitten. |
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No abusive or defamatory postings. You are solely responsible for anything you say in a message to EPUK. You may be banned from EPUK without warning at the sole discretion of a Moderator. |
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As a general rule there is not usually a problem with posting plain facts – there would be no problem with reporting that the Acme Company haven’t yet paid you six months on if that is the case. |
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There is a problem, however, with saying: “Acme Company haven’t paid me for six months, and they are all a bunch of crooks and con-artists”. Let the facts speak for themselves, and trust other EPUK members to make up their own mind. |
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