"NETIQUETTE" ON THE SPORTSCIENCE LIST The following rules of Net etiquette for the Sportscience email list were decided by consensus amongst list members and moderators. You receive a similar version of these rules in the info file you get when you subscribe. WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES CAN I SEND? Questions or opinions on the study and understanding of physical performance. Suitable topics (in alphabetical order) include: Coaching, diets, drugs, ergogenic aids, equipment, extreme environments, field tests, health, history, injury, mechanisms, nutrition, overtraining, physiological tests, sociology, statistics, supplements, teaching, training... and anything else related to the science of sport or physical activity. A summary of previous postings on a topic. An account of something that you have observed with one or more athletes. Such case studies are the foundation of empirical science. Requests for help with equipment. Requests for help with the design or analysis of a study. Requests for help with course work or assignments, provided you give some of your own ideas and references to get a good discussion going. Requests for contact information about people and organizations. Notices about conferences and jobs. Ads, but see the rules below. WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES CAN'T I SEND? The moderators will discard messages that ask unceremoniously for references. Try the links on the Journal Search page first before you ask for references on Sportscience. Show that you've made some effort by posting any references you have and asking if anyone knows of other published or unpublished material and how to get it. Most Sportscience subscribers want the moderators to discard simple requests for personal advice on training, diet, or ergogenic aids. It looks like most of us want research to be the primary focus of sportscience. See the Training Info link at the Sportscience site for advice on training. Any requests for advice that contain a reasonable science content will be approved. For example, if you tell us about good or bad experiences with a particular technique or aid, it qualifies as a case study. WHAT ARE THE MAIN REASONS MODERATORS DISCARD MESSAGES? Bad line breaks. Set your mailer up correctly. See point 3 below in the rules for replying to a message. Bad subject line or no subject line. No sender's name anywhere. Messages bigger than 10 kB (about 150 lines, or 5 screenfuls). Unadorned requests for training advice, references, or help with course work. Replies that should be sent to the person rather than to the list. "Flames" (insulting remarks). WHAT ARE THE RULES WHEN I REPLY TO A MESSAGE? A creative person breaks rules... Even so, please follow these as closely as possible. It's usual to reply to the person posting the message; if you just click "Reply", that's where it will go. If you think your reply will stimulate further useful discussion, reply to sportscience=AT=yahoogroups.com so everyone will get it. But please DON'T copy in the WHOLE of the original message. It sometimes helps to include part of it, to remind us about the issue. Set your mailer to use 12-pt Courier, or equivalently, make the message width about 75 characters. These settings insure your message has line breaks in the right places for people with unsophisticated mailers. Make your message short, clear, and free of distracting errors in spelling and grammar. Shorten or serialize messages longer than 10 kB (about 5 screenfuls or 150 lines). Make a special effort to be nice. It's all too easy to get a war of words going on a mailing list. Put an informative title of less than 30 characters (if possible) in the subject line. If you are replying from the digest, make sure you change the title from "Re: SPORTSCIENCE Digest xxx" to "Re: <the original subject line>". A signature at the bottom with your name and email address can be helpful. If a name doesn't appear somewhere, a moderator will discard the message. CHECK EVERYTHING on your mailer and in your message before you send a message to Sportscience. If you initiated a topic of general interest, please send an edited summary to the list when replies tail off. Not enough people do. Do NOT send unsubscribe, subscribe, or any other such command to the list itself. WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR ADS? Post your ad as a message in the usual way. It will automatically bounce to a moderator for approval. Ads must have AD: at the start of the subject line, followed by a brief (less than 35 characters) description of the product or service. Ads are free, but we'll allow only one ad per advertiser per month. Ads must be SHORT: one page, or 30 lines max. You can always ask people to contact you for more information. Notices about jobs, conferences, and not-for-profit information services are not classed as ads. Post them without AD: in the subject line. The following format has been suggested for some ads: Company: Service or Product: Cost: Use(s) by Athletes, Coaches, Scientists: Endorsements (if any): Research Evidence (if any): Contact for More Information:

editor · Homepage Last updated 1 Nov 2004