Posting Guidelines

(Sending email to the group)

The SBL mailing list is moderated. E-mail sent to the list goes first to a moderator for approval. If the moderator identifies a post as off-topic or inappropriate based on the guidelines below, the moderator will return the post via private e-mail with an explanation. Note: Moderators do not edit or alter posts (but may, at their discretion, add a missing subject line or remove a large quote when a post is otherwise acceptable).

Our goal is to moderate fairly and impartially. Moderators have to make judgment calls and sometimes make mistakes. If you feel that your post has been wrongly returned, you may ask for reconsideration or a second opinion from the other moderators.

Email may be returned for one or more of the following reasons:

  1. Nothing about bare feet or barefooting (off-topic).
    1. A post that does not address barefooting in some way, or a thread that has drifted off of the topic of barefooting.
    2. NOTE: “About barefooting” means “of interest to those living or trying to live a barefoot lifestyle.”
  2. Sexual or fetish oriented in nature.
    1. In general, anything of an erotic or fetish nature (as a main topic or a reference).
    2. SBL members include children and parents of children. Please do not submit anything that you would feel uncomfortable writing to a 12-year old member of your own family.
  3. Personal attacks, accusations, name-calling, derogatory or incendiary language.
    1. This is intended to prevent “flame wars.” Disagreement is fine as long as it's communicated politely and respectfully (either via the email list or private email).
    2. Please avoid sweeping statements or generalizations about entire groups of people (especially if derogatory). Our members include a diverse group of people representing many ethnic, national and religious backgrounds.
  4. Unnecessary profanity.
    1. Limited use of profanity may be accepted if it appears essential for relating a thought or experience (e.g., quoting someone), but we recommend using “dash-out” letters, e.g., “s---,” etc.
  5. Excessive quoting.
    1. This generally means including more than several lines of quoting from the previous post, or including its headers and/or footers. Some email programs automatically add the full text of the previous message at the end of a reply; make sure you edit or remove this, as appropriate.
    2. NOTE: When replying to a post, please do provide enough context to allow a reader to follow the flow. This can usually be accomplished with quoting just a short portion of the previous text. Sometimes, the Subject line can suffice.
  6. Quoting somebody's private e-mail without permission.
    1. It's generally not appropriate to quote private e-mail without the author's permission. If you have permission, please state that.
  7. A private reply to one person.
    1. A private reply meant for only the person who sent the original post should be sent directly to that person via private email.
  8. Language of the entire text other than English

NOTE: Moderators may, at their discretion, refer a member who sends repeated inappropriate posts or harasses the moderation staff to the SBL Membership Committee for disciplinary action.

Attachments and Text formatting

  1. Attachments are automatically removed by Yahoo! Groups software; the moderators never see them. If you want to show a picture to the group, you have three options.
  2. Please send email submissions in “plain text” format (not HTML text). Not all email clients are set up to render HTML.

The Subject Line

  1. The Subject line should have relevance to your submission. If the Subject line is left blank, or states: “Re: Digest 1234”, it may be returned for correction. Submitters who read the Digest are expected to find the correct Subject line when replying to a specific post.