General Information for the Red Sox mailing list ================================================
Last updated 1/9/99 by Keith Woolner
(Most recent changes: Instructions for new list server)
INTRODUCTION ------------ Welcome to the Bosox mailing list (BOSOX@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM) -- where you can share your thoughts on the Boston Red Sox with over 600 fans worldwide! The list was founded circa 1991 by Edward Fischer (aka Valentine), and later administered by Frank Solensky. The currently list owner is Keith Woolner.
If this message does not contain the info you are looking for, you can contact the list owner directly by sending email to "bosox-request@apple.ease.lsoft.com" or to "keith@woolner.com". Please do check to see if your answer is contained within, however, as most commonly asked questions are addressed in this document.
The mailing list is pretty active, averaging about 40 messages per day during the season, sometimes much more when a hot topic is getting discussed (the off-season volume is far less, for obvious reasons). This can be pretty overwhelming for some; others -- especially those using some of the prominent on-line services -- have to pay for each message delivered to them from the Internet and are interested in keeping their costs down when possible. For these reasons, the list has a "digest" option. If you'd prefer, all of the messages sent to the mailing list on a given day (give-or-take) will be sent to you as a single mail message.
LIST STATUS ----------- If there is downtime, performance degradation, or other known problems with the list server, there will be information posted at the following web page:
http://www.best.com/~kwoolner/redsox/list/
Please check this page before reporting a problem.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBSCRIBING ---------------------------- Joining the list is very easy. Send the following command in the body of an email to LISTSERV@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM:
subscribe bosox
After you subscription request is received, you will receive a message back from the list server asking you to confirm the request (and to ensure that your email address is reachable). The easiet way to do this is to click on the URL included in the message. Doing so will automatically confirm your subscription. If you do not have web access, continue reading below:
To confirm the execution of your command, simply reply to the present message and type "ok" (without the quotes) as the text of your message. Just the word "ok" - do not retype the command. This procedure will work with any mail program that fully conforms to the Internet standards for electronic mail. If you receive an error message, try sending a new message to LISTSERV@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (without using the "reply" function - this is very important) and type "ok 66B5D8" as the text of your message.
Finally, your command will be cancelled automatically if you do not confirm it within 48 hours. After that time, you must start over and resend the command to get a new confirmation code. If you change your mind and decide that you do NOT want to confirm the command, simply discard the present message and let the command expire on its own.
Troubleshooting subscriptions:
You can run into a minor problem if you are unlucky:
LISTSERV insists on having a "real world" name for everyone on the list, because addresses such as 00038385@XXXMAIL.COM are not very informative to the other users of the list. Normally, LISTSERV will extract both your e-mail address and your real name from the mail headers generated by your computer. But some computer programs do not supply any real name, and LISTSERV may ask you to resend the command with your name, as in:
subscribe bosox Keith Woolner
LISTSERV will then automatically insert the name you supplied in the headers of messages you send out to the list. When other people read the messages you post, they will see your name in addition to your e-mail address, and will not have to strain their memory with meaningless sequences of numbers.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR UNSUBSCRIBING ------------------------------ You can leave the list at any time by sending a SIGNOFF command to the host server (in this case, LISTSERV@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM):
signoff bosox
SELECTING DIGEST OR SINGLE-MESSAGE MODE --------------------------------------- NOTE: You must be subscribed to the list (i.e. subscription request must be processed and confirmed) before you can change to digest mode.
By default, your subscription will be for the single message version of the list. If you want to get the digest version (all messages for a day combined into a single email), send the following command in an email to LISTSERV@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM:
set bosox digest
To switch from digest mode back to single-message mode, send the following command
set bosox nodigest
LIST ARCHIVE ------------ Recent articles from the Red Sox list are archived at:
http://www.best.com/~kwoolner/bosoxdigest/
POSTING TO THE LIST ------------------- To send a message to the *entire* list, send your email to "BOSOX@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM". This address is the same regardless of whether you are on the single message or digest version of the list. Your message will be sent to the 600+ members of the list. Since it will be going out to so many people, please do *not* use this address for (un)subscribing, spam complaints, or other list administrivia. Only messages intended for the entire list readership should be sent to "BOSOX@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM"
FURTHER INFORMATION -------------------
The latest version of this information file can be retrieved on the list's web page http://www.best.com/~kwoolner/redsox/list/
For general help with the list server software, and info about other commands that are available write to LISTSERV@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM and, in the text of your message (not the subject line), write: "HELP" or "INFO" (without the quotes). HELP will give you a short help message and INFO a list of the documents you can order.
If you are really stuck, and can not find the answer to your question either in this document, or by consulting the links above, send an email to BOSOX-REQUEST@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM or to keith@woolner.com to reach the list owner.
The Red Sox do have an official Web Page: http://www.redsox.com
There is an unofficial Internet Boston Red Sox Frequently Asked Question document (FAQ), and is currently maintained by me, Keith Woolner, your friendly neighborhood list owner. :-) The FAQ can be found at http://www.best.com/~kwoolner/redsox
LIST ETIQUETTE --------------
* Discussion of any topic related to the Red Sox is permitted and the scope of what is considered "relevant" is pretty broad, and includes not only the current season and team, but also past seasons, prospects, former players, acquisitions & "hot stove" talk, salary/business/economic issues, Fenway Park & stadium issues, scouting reports on the competition, and general discussion of baseball "theory", as long as they pertain to, or originate from, a discussion thread about the Red Sox. However, specific details of other teams, non-Red Sox related trivia, box scores and descriptions from other games, non-baseball related matters (politics, news events etc.), solicitations, advertisements, spam, and the like are not topics that should be posted to the list.
* Please do NOT post in-game updates to the list -- a majority of people on the list do not read messages as they come in, and thus the game will probably be finished before they see a message like "Sox are up 3-0 in the fifth inning..." There are a variety of online sources where you can get up-to-the-minute game info. There used to be a "ticker" list for in-game updates, but that list no longer exists.
* This is primarily a discussion list, not a news list. The majority of content on the list should arise from the thoughts of the readership. Facts & data, including box scores, should be included when they are relevant to a topic being discussed, or to introduce a new topic. If you want to complain about a pitcher's performance, posting his pitching line (but not the entire box score) is appropriate. If you aren't directly commenting on a portion of the article, it should probably not be included.
* The wholesale or substantial reproduction of articles, box scores, and the like is not OK. Chances are that this info is protected by copyright. Post the URL for the article instead. Articles that come from a premium or fee-based web site are definitely not intended for broad circulation. I would prefer not to put myself nor anyone else on the list at risk of litigation by seeming to endorse or condone copyright infringement.
* Nothing in the copyright laws (to the best of my understanding) prevents you from restating the facts in your own words -- the facts aren't copyrightable, only the author's expression of them. That, combined with "fair use" usage (quoting a short section or passage of text in order to comment on it, or include it in an otherwise original document), should be more than sufficient for use on the list.
* Note that adding a single line of original commentary to a otherwise copied article does not fulfill the spirit of the rules -- e.g. reproducing the full text of a Globe article on Mo Vaughn's arrest and adding "This doesn't look good for Mo." isn't appropriate. It should never be necessary to quote more than a few sentences or a paragraph from a column or commentary. I do not wish to put a rigid formula on anything, but the general rule of thumb that you should add at least as much new material to what you're quoting is a good one.
* Profanity -- This is a family list, and there are younger members of Red Sox fandom participating in the discussion. Please keep this in mind when composing your comments.
* Spam -- like many Internet resources, the list may occasionally hit by unsolicited commercial email, commonly known as "spam". The list is a closed list, meaning that only subscribers should be able to send mail to the list. In the rare event that we get actual spam, please do *not* respond to the spam on the list -- even to complain. I make it a point to respond on behalf of the list to all relevant parties for each spam attack. If you must respond, send an email directly to the spammer's ISP (if you can read mail headers), or to myself, via the address "bosox-request@apple.ease.lsoft.com"
* Roger Clemens -- the departure of Roger Clemens from the Sox to the Toronto Blue Jays has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans, and many do not care to read about his exploits with another team on the Sox list. Still, as a former Sox player, he is a legitimate topic of discussion on the list, even if some want to avoid it. To be fair to all parties involved, please include the name "Clemens" in the Subject: line of any list message that discusses his post-Red Sox tenure.
Thank you, and enjoy the list!