The Track & Field Information and Discussion Listserver

Welcome! With the phenomenal growth of Internet and the rising membership on this listserver, we have prepared a very important How-To and Policy Statement for membership on this list. Please read it carefully, and save a copy of it for future use.

Purpose of the list:

Discussions on any topic related to track and field and its associated sports is acceptable. The list originated mainly as a means of sharing results, information, insights, and opinions about elite level track and field and its associated sports.

How to post messages to the list:

Every message that is sent to the address:

t-and-f@gac.edu

will be passed on to every member of the list.

Guidelines for posting to the list:

These guidelines are intended to facilitate better communication on this list. The list is NOT moderated! What that means, is that the list manager in general does not determine whether or not messages are suitable for posting. The listserver automatically posts messages without the list manager previewing them. However, all subscribers are expected to follow the guidelines below. We reserve the right to remove any subscriber who fails to adhere to these guidelines in the interpretation of the list manager.

1). Personal attacks, trash talking, and excessive use of profanity will not be tolerated. Both the subject matter of the posting and the subject header must be in good taste and appropriate, in the opinion of the list manager. Individuals making personal attacks will have their subscription automatically suspended and will not be readmitted unless they issue a retraction of their offending statement.

2). This list is a world wide network of athletes, coaches, officials, sports scientists, and track and field enthusiasts. Every message sent to "t-and-f@gac.edu" should be intended for that audience.

3). Messages intended for one person on the list should be sent to that person through direct e-mail. Do not post these messages to the entire list.

4). When responding to previous posts, please include only the part of the message you are responding to. It is often a good idea to include the name of the person who posted the original message you are responding to. For example:

Jane Doe  writes:
> I'm concerned about coaches who require their female athletes to > lose weight.  This can be very dangerous.

I agree that this can be hazardous to college athletes.  I know of an athlete at (ect.)

Here, the poster used ">" to denote what was previously said. By including only the part of the message you are responding to in your post, this will allow your points to come across more clearly.

5). Include your name and e-mail address in the body of every message posted to the list. That way, everyone will know who you are, and will be able to respond to you via e-mail. Note that not all mailers provide the address of each post's origin.

6). The message subject header should give some indication of what your post is about. That way, others can quickly sort through their mail. It also allows people to follow the current line of discussion on a topic. This is known as "following a thread".

7). Damaging accusations, speculations, and misinformation presented as factual are prohibited. Example, "Joe Runner's rapid improvement means he has taken banned drugs," is not acceptable. Accusations and speculations must be presented as personal beliefs or opinions, such as "It is my opinion that...." Violators of this guideline will have their subscription suspended, and must provide a retraction before they may rejoin the list.

8). Many subscribers pay to use e-mail. Others rely heavily on e-mail for their occupations. Messages to the list that do not fall under the purpose outlined above may be extremely burdensome for some subscribers, and should be avoided.

9). The responsibility of the posting content lies entirely with the poster.

Subscription requests:

The t-and-f list is maintained by an automated program that can add and remove people from the list in response to e-mail messages. Requests to have addresses added or removed from the list should NOT be sent to the entire list. Instead, they should be mailed to one of the following depending on the circumstance.

Standard automated subscription request:

Send e-mail to

"listproc@gac.edu"

"subscribe t-and-f firstname lastname" 

Standard automated signoff request:

Send e-mail to

"listproc@gac.edu" 

"signoff t-and-f" 

For those who cannot or prefer not to send mail to listproc:

Send mail to

"dwp@mps.ohio-state.edu"

Common problems:

Many people will have addresses change between the time the sign on and sign off the mailing list. This commonly occurs because a person joins the list using their Internet address and then signs off trying to use their BITNET address. Another common occurrence is that a site changes things so that only the domain name is sent out with messages rather than the whole fully qualified hostname and domain name. Please just let me know when this happens.

T-AND-F in DIGEST form:

The contents of the list can also be received in digest form. These digests consist of several messages appended together, and arrive 2-6 times per day. Many subscribers find that digests make the list traffic more manageable. To get this option, send the message

SET T-AND-F MAIL DIGEST

to

"listproc@gac.edu"

Other listprocessor commands:

You may wish to configure your subscription and receive information about this list by sending the following commands to

"listproc@gac.edu". 

"SET T-AND-F MAIL POSTPONE"

"SET T-AND-F MAIL ACK"

"SET T-and-F CONCEAL YES"

"SET T-AND-F CONCEAL NO"

"REVIEW T-AND-F"

"STATISTICS T-AND-F"

"STATISTICS T-AND-F user1@domain user2@domain"

"INFO T-AND-F"

"HELP"

Other lists related to track and field:

1.ULTRA This list focuses on the sport of ultrarunning. To subscribe, e-mail to "listserv@dartcms1.dartmouth.edu" with the message "subscribe ultra firstname lastname".

2.DRS (Dead Running Society) This list discusses running and other topics informally. To subscribe, e-mail to "listserv@dartcms1.dartmouth.edu" with the message "sub drs firstname lastname".

3.DRM (Dead Runners Mind) This list branched off of DRS, and discusses the philosophical and psychological aspects of running. To subscribe, e-mail to "listserv@dartcms1.dartmouth.edu" with the message "sub drm firstname lastname".

4.weights This list discussing weightlifting of all types from weight training to bodybuilding to power lifting. To subscribe, send a request to Michael Sullivan at "weights-request@fa.disney. com".

5.SPORTSPSY This list deals with exercise and sports psychology. To subscribe, send the message "sub sportpsy firstname lastname" to the address "listserv@vm.temple.edu".

6.SPORTSOC This list deals with the sociological aspects of sports. To subscribe, send the message "sub sportsoc firstname lastname" to the address "listserv@vm.temple.edu".

Archives:

The t-and-f list is archived. The archives are available by anonymous ftp to gac.edu, located in

"pub/E-mail-archives/t-and-f".

Colophon:

This document was originally written by Charlie Mahler, Distance Running Coach at Gustavus Adolphus College. Craig Rice of St. Olaf College and Dan Boehlke of Gustavus Adolphus College provided some of the content and structure of this document. Michael Mason provided for mechanical assistance for the creation of this list. The document was revised on 8/3/94 by Derrick Peterman of The Ohio State University. In any event, Charlie Mahler, Gustavus Adolphus College, Derrick Peterman, and The Ohio State University take no responsibility for the content posted to this list.

The Listserver software is provided by Anastasios Kotsikonas, and we use version 6.0 on a UNIX Server. The software does not support PREVIEW.