Policies and guidelines
The University of Nevada, Reno's Mailing List Service is hosted and maintained by the Office of Information Technology (OIT). To prevent misuse of this service, OIT reviews list names, list purposes, and patterns of use to ensure that usage conforms to established policies.
Policies
These are the policies which govern the Mailing List service:
- The @lists service is bound by the general Computing and Network Use Agreement. Please read that policy.
- Mailing lists are bound by an "opt in" option by policy except for the Campus Announcement Lists. This means that list owners and moderators must have the person's explicit permission to add their email address to the list.
- A list using @lists service is a privileged use, not a right. Lists may be closed, have their address name modified, etc., by the administrators of the @lists system without the consent of any list owner if excessive resource usage, verifiable complaints, and/or eminent University business requires it.
- The mailing lists service is not recommended for automated alert notification. If you must use a list for alert or report notification, please be sure to set a conservative notification interval. To protect general use of the list service, a list that uses excessive resources, may, without notice, be shut down and excessive messages removed.
- If an alerting service is needed, please visit the OIT help pageand open a request for an alerting service.
- A list owner is responsible for keeping list member addresses current and active and for managing issues with their list. Any list that fails to have an identifiable active University of Nevada, Reno faculty or staff member as an owner will be reviewed for purpose and may be shut down without notice.
- A list owner is responsible for providing first-level support to list subscribers. This includes assistance with subscribing to and unsubscribing from lists and responding to questions about list policy.
- The @lists system administrators do not monitor messages for content but will respond to complaints from list members when necessary.
- Messages sent using the @lists service should be created with the University’s Accessibility policies in mind. Images should contain alt-text, formatting should be screen-reader compliant, and attachments should be reviewed for accessibility before sending.
- All lists at the @lists service should have a defined purpose. A list without a defined purpose (a description should be defined upon list creation and can be updated by the list owner) may be subject to being shut down without notice based on general verifiable complaints.
- The @lists system automatically scans all messages for malware and phishing behaviors. Any list that is detected sending this type of content will be immediately closed pending a security review, and the sender’s UNR netID will be locked until they complete Security Awareness Training assigned by OIT Compliance.
- Spam mailing and/or repeated verifiable off-topic postings are potential grounds for removal from any and all @lists lists, including list ownership.
- The @lists service, excluding the Campus Announcement Lists, is not to be used for general bulk mailings, nor one-time use lists.
- @lists lists are not to be used for non-University (i.e., unrelated) business. This service is a campus resource for the campus community.
Guidelines
- Define the topical focus of the list and provide an accurate description of the list upon creation/update.
- Do not use mailing lists to distribute calendar invitations.
- Norms learned in a particular e-mail environment may not apply in general to your email communication with people across the Internet. Be careful with slang or local acronyms.
- Be aware of what you are sending (size, content, etc.) and to whom you are sending it. Sending someone mail may also cost them in other specific ways like network bandwidth, disk space, or CPU usage in ways that may or may not be costs that apply to you as a sender.
- Consider that a large audience may see your posts. That may include your present or your next supervisor. Take care in what you write. Remember that mailing lists are frequently archived, and that your words may be stored for a very long time in a place to which colleagues and peers may have access.
- Assume that individuals speak for themselves, and what they say does not represent their organization (unless stated explicitly).
- Messages and articles should be brief and to the point. Don't wander off-topic, don't ramble, and don't send mail or post messages solely to point out other people's errors in typing or spelling. These, more than any other behavior, mark you as a beginner.
- Attach a University-approved signature to your message. This will guarantee that any peculiarities of mailers that strip header information will not delete the only reference in the message of how people may reach you.
- Don't send large files to mailing lists – use the provided NevadaBox service and send a link to the file instead.
- If you are caught in an argument, keep the discussion focused on issues rather than the personalities involved.
- Don't get involved in flame wars. Neither post nor respond to incendiary material.
- Avoid sending messages that are no more than gratuitous replies to replies.
- Be careful with monospace fonts and diagrams. These will display differently on different systems, and with different mailers on the same system.