More Questions?
1. The History of WAGGGS-L
WAGGGS-L was formed in June 1996, after another list, Scout-Girls-L, had
outgrown the software and server being used to run it. The list changed
names as it changed hosts; its name is the acronym of the World Association
of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The list is not officially sponsored by
WAGGGS, but with its new name, the list has grown progressively more
international, with members all over the world.
back to top
This list exists to promote discussion about Girl Scouting and Girl Guiding.
The topics of discussion vary from day to day, but commonly discussed items
include ceremonies, songs, recipes, and traditions; other messages discuss
dealing with difficult issues such as over- or under-involved parents,
behavior problems, helping older girls stay involved, etc. Any issue
relating to Scouting/Guiding is possible. It is not appropriate to post
to WAGGGS-L about non-Scouting or Guiding topics. Furthermore, it is never
appropriate to post a chain letter (even a friendly,
pass-this-poem-to-20-people chain letter) to WAGGGS-L.
Patch trading is not discussed on WAGGGS-L, although many members are
interested in this subject. The
WAGGGS-L
101 file can point you to resources about patch trading, however.
Some members of WAGGGS-L host mascots for other troops, or send mascots out.
If you are interested in more information about this, visit
a
mascot web site for more information.
A
compilation of recipes collected by some members of WAGGGS-L is also
available on the web. If you're interested in more ancillary activities
of WAGGGS-L, consult WAGGGS-L 101.
back to top
3. WAGGGS-L Addresses
The list has several different addresses used for different purposes.
- WAGGGS-L@IUPUI.EDU
- is the address to send
messages to
be
posted to all subscribers.
- OWNER-WAGGGS-L@IUPUI.EDU
- is the address to send a
note to
the list owners, Sara and
Susan-Marie.
- LISTSERV@IUPUI.EDU
- is the address to communicate
directly with
the computer that controls the list. All
commands regarding the list should go to
this address. More about this in the next
section.
back to top
4. Getting help with list commands and
learning about WAGGGS-L
You can get further information about how to use the list from the
WAGGGS-L help file, available on the web
or via e-mail. To have a copy sent to you, send the one line message
get WAGGGS-L help
to
listserv@iupui.edu
This help file is friendly and easy to read, and we recommend it because
it has information about searching the WAGGGS-L archives.
SAVE THE HELP FILE as well as this message.
More information about WAGGGS-L and related activities can be found in the
WAGGGS-L 101 file, which describes service
activities and some frequently
discussed topics (such as mascot hosting) and items of related interest.
Request this file by sending
get WAGGGS-L help
to
listserv@iupui.edu
back to top
5. SHARING WAGGGS-L
The other welcome message that was generated includes a warning that the
list is confidential, and instructs you not to share postings from the list
or even to mention the list's existence to others. IGNORE THIS. That text
is automatically generated because of a technical feature in the list
setup which excludes the list name from Internet-wide searches for
listserv discussion groups.. This setting protects the list from spamming,
or electronic junk mail. It runs contrary to the Girl Scouting and Girl
Guiding spirit to be exclusive, so please feel free to share ideas you get
from the list with other leaders and Guiders you know. Invite your
friends to join, and feel free to share information about how to
subscribe to this list in your local publications (note: it's a good idea
to put the list name in capital letters in any publicity, to make clear
that the last character in the name is the letter L, not the number 1.)
back to top
6. WAGGGS-L Etiquette
The list relies on members' good will and good "netiquette" to run as
smoothly as it does. Each month, the listowners post a list of hints
that help make the list a pleasure to all of us. In general,
the following principles help make the electronic discussion continue:
-
Be patient. Electronic mail can be sent in an instant, and it can't
be
recalled. If you read something that makes you angry, don't reply
immediately. Wait an hour or two, or a day, and then reply. Use
the Girl Scout and Girl Guide Promise and Laws to guide your postings.
- Sign your messages. Always put your name, geographic location,
and
e-mail address at the bottom of your posts.
-
Explain terms or abbreviations. Please remember that there are
representatives of many different scouting or guiding associations on the
list, so customs, abbreviations, rules, and laws may differ from
country to country. After you've been on the list for a while, you'll
become familiar with some of the basic differences, but remember to
explain acronyms or terms that may be unfamiliar.
- Use appropriate subject headings. If you receive the list in
digest form,
you'll need to change the subject heading when you reply to the list.
Your subject heading should reflect the topic(s) you discuss in your
posting.
back to top
7.
Posts to the list vs. posts to individuals
The list generates a lot of
mail each day. In order to keep the volume of mail on the list
manageable, we ask that members think carefully about whether a
particular post should go to the whole list, or only to a
single participant. If you are reading your mail several days behind,
please read through all your mail before responding to the whole list,
since you may find that others responding to WAGGGS-L have already
posted what you were thinking.
If someone has asked a question that has a single (or limited) answer (such
as "Where can I find the book Trefoil Around the World?" or
"What's the name of the youngest age level group in Spain?"), or a
question that virtually all members can answer (such as "How many years have
you been involved in Girl Scouting or Guiding?") post the answer
privately. People who ask these sorts of questions should
offer to collect responses off-list and then post a
summary for the whole list. When such a question is
posted, and you're interested in the answer, instead of sending a message
to the list saying "I need that info, too", consider sending it to the
person who posted the question to begin with. Similarly, postings
that say "I agree!" or "Me, too!" or "Good idea!" should be sent privately.
If someone has asked a question that can have many answers (such as "Any
ideas for a Guide's Own? or environmental wide games?), post the
answer to the list.
back to top
8. The format of messages sent to the list
- Don't quote previous messages. When replying to a
message,
only include
those portions of the message which are absolutely necessary to make
your own posting clear. In general, it's not necessary to quote more
than a line or two from a previous posting. When discussing variations
in song lyrics, please don't repost the entire song (after a while it
gets repetitious); simply indicate where your lyrics are different.
- Send only plain text messages. Learn enough about your
own mailing
system to be able to send only plain text to the list. Even if your
mailer allows you to send hot links, italics, bold-face, underlining, or
different colors in your mail, do not send such posts to the list. They
will be unreadable in many readers' mailboxes, and they may interfere with
an entire day's worth of mail for some people. It is particularly
important that you avoid sending winmail.dat encoded mail to the list;
this is something that can be generated by Windows-based mail systems like
Microsoft Exchange. Generally speaking, attachments, unusual
characters, graphics, zipped or encoded files, etc. can be difficult for
many list members to read. Given the variety of e-mail systems
around the world, simplicity is best.
- Don't send HTML postings. If you are using a web-based mailing
system,
please make sure that your messages to the list do not include HTML markup
language. Similarly, please do not send encoded messages to the list,
and do not use a single line of hyphens. Many people will not be able
to read such messages.
back to top
9. Gentle Reminders
In order to help people who are new to WAGGGS-L and/or electronic discussion
groups, several members of WAGGGS-L have volunteered to send
"gentle reminders" to members who don't follow these guidelines.
If you receive such a message, please consider it a
gentle reminder and a pat on the back for participating, not a reprimand.
Even the most experienced among us make these mistakes from time to time.
back to top
10. Privacy and Problems
We should all remember that WAGGGS-L is a public discussion, and that
e-mail is not always private. Messages sent via e-mail might be shared
with others, and posters have no control over the final destinations of
their messages. While the sharing of craft ideas or recipes poses little
problem, the sharing of posts about personal experiences or local problems
can cause personal difficulties. We ask list members to be considerate
about sharing personal posts without the author's express permission.
We also ask all participants on the list to recognize that the list is a
valuable problem-solving resource. There have been a few cases in which
list members posted queries about local problems, asking advice or
assistance, which in turn caused problems for the posters when others in
the local area saw the posts. These readers saw the request for
assistance as criticisms of particular individuals, service units, or
councils. We want WAGGGS-L to be a place where people can communicate
openly and honestly about problems they are having at all levels of Girl
Scouting/Girl Guiding, from the troop to WAGGGS. In order to make this
possible, we ask that all readers bear in mind the pride we all take in
our involvement with Girl Scouting/Guiding, the delicate nature of
problem-solving, and the creativity that the list discussion brings to
bear on hard situations.
Listmembers shouldn't be afraid to ask about difficult issues,
although posts about local problems might tactfully delete identifying
information about individuals, and sometimes about locations, in order to
minimize potential embarassment. We also ask that listmembers who may be
familiar with a problem posed not chastise or reprimand the poster for
raising a difficult issue. It is our hope that readers interpret problems
discussed not as a reflection on the people involved, but rather as a
description of a situation that could happen anywhere.
back to top
11. More Questions? You'll find WAGGGS-L a friendly and welcoming
place.
If you have more questions, please retrieve the help document
described above, and/or contact the list owners,
Sara Crawley and Susan-Marie Harrington, at owner-WAGGGS-L@iupui.edu.
Welcome aboard!
back to top