The Stones Mailing List Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) File Revision 021 - 29th October, 2007 FAQ availability What is the purpose of the Stones Mailing List? What are the rules for participating in the Stones Mailing List? How can I subscribe to the list? How do I post a message to the list? How can I unsubscribe from the list? How can I change my email address on the list? How can I receive a "digest" of the mailing list? Can I temporarily halt delivery of list mail without unsubscribing? What other commands can I issue to the mailing list? The Stones-Chat List Is there a web archive of messages from the Stones Mailing List? What relationship exists between this mailing list and the Stone Circle Web Ring? What is ASLaN? What books exist relating to the subject? Revision Details Disclaimer FAQ availability This is the official FAQ for the Stones Mailing List. It is maintained and distributed by Chris Tweed ( chris at henge dot org dot uk). This FAQ file is posted to the mailing list periodically and is also available online from http://www.stoneslist.org.uk where you can choose between ASCII, HTML and MS Word versions of the document. If you have any queries, comments, suggestions or additions for either this FAQ or the mailing list then please send email to me at stones-owner@stoneslist.org.uk. What is the purpose of the Stones Mailing List? The Stones Mailing List came into being at the end of September / beginning of October 1997 as a facility for a small number of people to take part in a broad and open conversation regarding anything that relates to "ancient sites". There were various archaeological mailing lists and news groups in existence, but nothing that reflected the informal and open style of discussion that was envisaged by the mailing list creator, Chris Tweed. The list has grown steadily over the years and has attracted a knowledgeable and devoted membership. Various list members organise occasional “meets” which typically involve site visits. The term "ancient sites" in the above context covers any type of archaeological site from stone circles and burial mounds to brochs and hill forts, pyramids and Nasca lines! The discussion is not limited to sites within the British Isles, although it is likely that correspondence will concentrate upon these sites for much of the time. Also included are those phenomena that do not necessarily have a substantive physical presence, for example leys and dowsing. These are included because they are often relevant to the main topic of discussion. The administrator holds a tolerant view towards what is and what is not "on topic" for this list. See "What are the rules for participating in the Stones Mailing List" below. Also see "The Stones-Chat List" - the place to go if you want to partake in any off-topic banter with other folks from the mailing list community. What are the rules for participating in the Stones Mailing List? For the benefit of those who do-not wish to download excessive amounts of "rubbish" the following rules and guidelines apply to the posting of messages to this list : - 1.The posting of illegal or offensive material to the mailing list is prohibited and will be dealt with by banning the offender from the list and reporting his / her conduct to the appropriate authorities. The judgement of what is regarded as offensive is entirely the decision of the administrator. 2.In common with most other discussion groups the posting of binary files to the mailing list is prohibited. If there is a binary file that you would like to share with other list members there are other ways of accomplishing this:- a)Make the file available via either a web page or an ftp site and then inform the list of the appropriate URL. b)Ask interested parties to mail you directly (ie they should reply off the list) so that you can send the file off the list to only those people who request it. 3.Please try to keep quoting to a useful minimum. There is little point in quoting a large message in full and simply adding "I agree" to the end of it. 4.The administrator of the mailing list has a tolerant view towards what may or may not fall inside the subject of the mailing list. His decision will be final and he would ask you to take note of any warnings he may issue regarding what he feels is "off subject" for this mailing list. 5.If you do want to talk "off topic" to other members of the list then you can always subscribe to the "stones-chat" list. This provides people the opportunity to "opt in" to a mailing list where they can talk off topic with other members of the main list without filling up the main list with too much chatter. You can discover more about the stones-chat list below. 6.People will occasionally fall out with each other and the medium of email is notorious for miscomprehension of intent. Please be tolerant when posting to the mailing list, treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. A helping hand is more welcome than a slap! 7.The content of messages distributed via the mailing list is the sole responsibility of the individual poster. The administrator of the mailing list takes no responsibility for the postings of other members. 8.The administrator reminds subscribers that the service provided by the mailing list is in no way guaranteed. Whilst the administrator will do his utmost to ensure smooth operation of the mailing list there may be breaks in service. The administrator will in no way be held responsible for any damages or loss of earnings resulting from subscribing to the mailing list. (this is beginning to sound like a Microsoft licensing agreement, but I have to cover myself). 9.As the subject matter of this mailing list often concerns ancient sacred sites it is likely that some kind of discussion involving religious and spiritual beliefs will arise from time to time. When posting to the list please respect the beliefs of others as you would want your own beliefs to be respected. If you disagree with a particular view of the world then please try to do so in a reasoned and civil manner. How can I subscribe to the list? You can subscribe to the Stones Mailing list either via the web or via email :- By Email To subscribe to the Stones Mailing List via email you should send a message to stones-request@stoneslist.org.uk with the word "subscribe" (without the quote marks) in the subject line or the message body. When the list server receives your request it will reply to you with a confirmation message. You can either visit the web link enclosed in the confirmation email or simply reply to the message (making sure that you do not change the subject header) to be fully validated as a subscriber to the list. By Web Browser To subscribe to the Stones Mailing List using your web browser go to the following URL :- http://www.stoneslist.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/stones and then enter your details in the form provided. Once you click on the send button the list server will send you a confirmation message to the email address you entered. You can either visit the web link enclosed in the confirmation email or simply reply to the message (making sure that you do not change the subject header) to be fully validated as a subscriber to the list. Whether subscribing to the list via the web or via email you will receive a “Welcome” message once you are validated as a member of the list. Please try to keep this welcome message in a safe place, it contains a link to your personal mailing list configuration page where you can change settings, get a reminder of your password emailed to you, or unsubscribe from the list. Note that by default the mailing list will email your password to you every month (this can be disabled using your configuration page or email). How do I post a message to the list? The address to send your messages for the list is stones@stoneslist.org.uk How can I unsubscribe from the list? You can unsubscribe from the Stones Mailing List via either your web browser or email :- By Email Send a message to stones-request@stoneslist.org.uk with the word “unsubscribe” (without the quote marks) in either the subject line or the message body. By Web Browser Visit your personal mailing list configuration page (the URL for this is in the welcome message sent to you when you subscribed) and click on the “unsubscribe” button. You can also browse to the following URL, scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your email address which will take you to your subscriber options page. Here you can unsubscribe from the list. http://www.stoneslist.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/stones In either case the list server will send you an email to confirm your removal from the mailing list. You can either visit the web link enclosed in the confirmation email or simply reply to the message (making sure that you do not change the subject header) to have your list membership cancelled. How can I change my email address on the list? If you want to change your email address then head to your personal mailing list configuration page and enter your new email address there. A confirmation message will be sent to your new email address. You should either reply to this email or visit the URL provided within it in order to confirm your email address change. Please note that your password and all your other settings will remain intact. Note that you can get to your personal mailing list configuration page by browsing to the following URL and entering your email address into the text box near the bottom of the page :- http://www.stoneslist.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/stones How can I receive a "digest" of the mailing list? Some people find it more convenient to receive one bundled up copy of all the mail from the mailing list periodically rather than receiving each individual message as it is distributed to the list. If you wish to receive messages from The Stones Mailing List in this fashion you can change the required settings via either email or a web browser. By Email Send a message to stones-request@stoneslist.org.uk and use one of the following options in either the subject line or the message body :- set digest plain set digest mime set digest off When the `digest' option is turned off, you will receive postings immediately when they are posted. Use `set digest plain' if instead you want to receive postings bundled into a plain text digest. Use `set digest mime' if instead you want to receive postings bundled together into a MIME digest. By Web Browser Go to your mailing list configuration page and select the appropriate options under “set digest mode” and “get MIME or plain text digests”. Note that you can not receive both the normal postings and the digests from the same email address. If for some reason you do wish to receive both types of delivery then you will have to subscribe a second email address to the mailing list and set your options accordingly. All digests are currently issued at 2 minutes past midnight, UK time. Can I temporarily halt delivery of list mail without unsubscribing? Sometimes it’s handy to be able to temporarily halt the flow of mail from the mailing list if you are going away on holiday or will be unable to read it for an extended period. This is particularly useful if you have a limit imposed on the size of your mailbox. You can suspend mail delivery my issuing a command via email or by using your web browser :- By Email Send a message to stones-request@stoneslist.org.uk containing “set delivery off” (without the quote marks) in either the subject line or the message body. To recommence delivery of mailing list messages simply send another command “set delivery on”. By Web Browser Browse to your personal configuration page and set the “mail delivery” option to either enabled or disabled as required. What other commands can I issue to the mailing list? Please note that all of your settings can be changed either by email or via the web configuration page. There are no options that are only available via one or the other, it is simply a matter of personal preference which method you choose. By Email Send a message to stones-request@stoneslist.org.uk with the word “help” (without the quote marks) in either the subject line or the message body. The list server will reply with a full list of settings that you can change. By Web Browser Visit your configuration page and select the options you require. The Stones-Chat List The Stones-Chat mailing list was set up to enable people to talk off topic with other members of the mailing list without inflicting such off-topic messages on the rest of the subscriber base. If you would like to join the stones-chat mailing list then please follow the instructions for the main list as shown above but substitute “stones-chat” for “stones”. All other options and settings are identical to the main stones list – just substitute “stones-chat” for “stones”. Is there a web archive of messages from the Stones Mailing List? The archives for the Stones Mailing List can be found at the following URL :- http://www.stoneslist.org.uk/pipermail/stones Please note that these archives start on Sunday 11th July 2004 when the mailing list moved to the Mailman list server system. I am currently working on making all previous postings to the list available via a similar web browser interface. What relationship exists between this mailing list and the Stone Circle Web Ring? The "Stones Mailing List" and the "Stone Circle Web Ring" are two entirely separate things. The creator of one just happens to be a friend of the creator of the other. Andy Burnham often recommends that members of the web ring subscribe to the Stones Mailing List as a convenient means of keeping up to date with events. My web site happens to be a member of the Stone Circle Web Ring. There is no official link and membership of one does not imply or require membership of the other. What is ASLaN? ASLaN is the Ancient Sacred Landscapes Network. The administrator of the list, as an individual who cares about ancient and sacred monuments is an advocate of the aims of ASLaN, however the mailing list is in no way affiliated with ASLaN. Some ASLaN members use the mailing list as a convenient method of communication and you are likely to see the acronym banded around. ASLaN currently appears to be without an online home, I am liaising with Andy Norfolk to remedy this situation. Meanwhile a copy of the ASLaN Charter can be found here :- http://www.henge.org.uk/general/ASLaN_Charter.txt Sorry, I need to get this back online after my server failure. It will be back again shortly! What books exist relating to the subject? In short, far too many to list here! However there are bibliographies available on the web. I would recommend the bibliography put together by Alastair McIvor to be a very good starting place. Point your web browser to http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/6197/bib.htm. Revision Details Rev Date By Details 001 29/09/1997 Chris Tweed First draught of FAQ. 002 01/10/1997 Chris Tweed Clean up formatting + a few minor changes. 003 09/10/1997 Chris Tweed Converted to Word document and HTML. 004 01/11/1997 Chris Tweed Added mailing list archive details. Updated URL index. Tweaked the text a little :^) 005 03/12/1997 Chris Tweed Broch entry in glossary updated, thanks to Martin McCarthy. Updated URL index. 006 01/02/1998 Chris Tweed Updated URL index. 007 08/03/1998 Chris Tweed Added snailmail address section. Updated URL index. Added instructions for joining the mailing list (a slight omission from previous versions). 008 14/04/1998 Chris Tweed Updated URL index. 009 06/06/1998 Chris Tweed Removed the glossary. Added the ASLaN charter. Added section 8 to Rules and Guidelines. 010 25/07/1998 Chris Tweed Updated Mailing List Commands. Glossary re-included in FAQ by popular demand! 011 19/09/1998 Chris Tweed Major update to Mailing List Commands URL index updated. 012 21/11/1998 Chris Tweed Changed "Posting Rules And Etiquette" to reflect the change in policy regarding binary attachments. Updated mailing list commands section. 013 31/01/1999 Chris Tweed Total reformatting of the document. 014 21/05/1999 Chris Tweed Reformatting of the entire document (again). 015 11/06/1999 Chris Tweed Modification to allow for the move of the mailing list to symbolstone.org Removal of the glossary. 016 Chris Tweed Updated URLs 017 19/02/2002 Chris Tweed Updated FAQ after move of mailing list hosting. Removed URLs, I mean, it's just a joke trying to keep up with them now. 018 14/01/2003 Chris Tweed Added information regarding "stones-chat". Added information regarding the web archive. Removed full text of ASLaN charter and inserted suitable links to ASLaN website instead. 019 13/08/2003 Chris Tweed General tidy-up. 020 19/07/2004 Chris Tweed Updated to cover the move to the new “Mailman” maintained list. 021 29/10/2007 Chris Tweed Modified to take into account new domain name etc. Disclaimer The maintainer of this FAQ will take no responsibility for any inaccuracy in this document.