Last Modified 4/28/94

The CELSS-L was established to serve the members of the NSCORT based at Purdue. CELSS-L is being run and maintained using LISTSERV. One feature of CELSS-L is the email server, which will be the environment of the discussion groups of CELSS-L. Messages that are sent via normal email channels to the list address will be automatically distributed to all the subscribers to CELSS-L. Upon distribution, the messages will appear to the subscribers as normal email messages and can be extracted and downloaded like normal email messages.

Currently, the subscription list for CELSS-L is limited to the members of the Purdue NSCORT. The list of active subscribers needs to be kept up-to-date. Any requests for subscription or unsubscription should be sent to the list owner directly and not sent to either the CELSS-L or LISTSERV addresses. In this way, the CELSS-L subscription list can best be controlled and this method provides the greatest security against network villains.

The topics for discussion on CELSS-L will be up to the subscribers, although it is suggested by the list owner that the discussions be limited to CELSS subject matter. For the list to be successful, there must be active participation of the subscribers. This means that the subscribers will be asked to read and respond to their email on a regular basis, preferably on at least a daily basis. In essence, the discussions on CELSS-L must be self-propagating since the list owner will not be moderating or promoting discussion on an on-going basis. It is best to keep the discussions in threads that have the same subject line, so that readers can follow a particular issue. And please, if you start or participate in a particular thread continue to monitor the list until that thread ceases. Also, although it is good idea to read messages daily, do not feel compelled to post messages that often. If you truly have something substantial to add, then go ahead. But if your comments are rather trivial, it might be best not to waste the bandwidth. It also might be best to wait until there is a bit of a lull in traffic before starting new threads. Essentially, it would best for the discussion group to have a middling amount of traffic at any one time, so that subscribers are not overwhelmed with mail messages.

There are certain standards of conduct that must be maintained to make CELSS-L an environment that promotes the free exchange of ideas. The list owner asks that the subscribers strictly observe these rules of conduct. CELSS-L is a friendly list, politeness counts. The use of obscenities, derogatory language, and explicatives should be avoided. Flame wars (exchanges of derogatory comments) will not be permitted. Subscribers who post flames will be reprimanded and possibly expelled from CELSS-L. The list owner has zero tolerance for network bullies and rogues. Furthermore, anonymous messages will not be accepted and the anonymous user will be uncovered and expelled. Exchanges between discussion participants should remain polite, professional, and friendly.

There will be no archiving of the traffic on CELSS-L. Archiving is an expensive and time-consuming process that is being avoided at this time. Therefore, the subscribers will be responsible for storing and maintaining the messages in which they are interested on their personal computer accounts or desktop devices. Messages that are not saved by the individual subscribers will not be retrievable by either the list owner or the LISTSERV postmaster. A minimal amount of statistics will be compiled on a monthly basis to monitor the amount of traffic on CELSS-L. This information will be made available by the list owner to interested parties.

Please report problems with CELSS-L to the list owner via email. Problems that might be encountered include, garbled messages, delayed messages, missing messages, duplicate messages, etc. Do not send requests for help to the LISTSERV postmaster. Difficulties encountered on the user-end should not be reported to the list owner. These include problems extracting or downloading files, unpacking files or help in accessing mail or operating mail-handling programs on mainframe or desk-top computers. These problems should be reported to the computer support services of the users' individual departments.

The list owner welcomes you to CELSS-L and hopes that this new forum will be a valuable and exciting endeavor for Purdue NSCORT.

CELSS-L address (to be used for posting messages to the list)
"CELSS-L@vm.cc.purdue.edu"

CELSS-L owner (administrative manager)
Dr. Mark A. Schneegurt
"mschnee@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu"