Developer CD Series 1997 July: Mac OS SDK/Dev.CD Jul 97 SDK2.toast/Development Kits (Disc 2)/QuickTime/QuickTime Dev. Mailing List

Text File | 1997-02-26 | 12.1 KB | 273 lines | [ttro/ttxt]

This is the Introduction for the Apple QuickTime developer mailing list. To
suggest additions, changes, corrections or anything else, send
mail to [e-mail]. Mail server problems should be sent to
[e-mail].

EVERYONE should read this document at least once, especially the
section on the charter an what constitutes acceptable postings and
behavior. Ignorance of the rules is not considered an excuse. Please work
with us to help make this place a fun list to be on.

This document is posted to the mailing list twice a month, on the 1st
and 15th. All automatically posted messages will have the a subject
starting with "FAQ -". All IMPORTANT administrative messages will have a
subject that begins with "Admin:". Users are requested to please read these.

============
Table of Contents
============
0) Please note: automated subscriptions
1) How to find the FAQ and Home Page
2) Important Mail Server Commands
3) Charter: What's Acceptable/What's not 4) Archive locations

============
0) Please note:
============
This list is run on an automated mail server. You should keep a copy of
the server commands handy in case you need to change your subscription.
Please do NOT under any circumstances post administrative commands or
requests for server help to the public list. If you can't make it work,
write to the admin directly.

============
1) How to find the FAQ and Home Page
============
The home page for this mailing list is:
http://abs.apple.com/pub/quicktime-dev/ **under construction**
This document is:
ftp://abs.apple.com/pub/quicktime-dev/quicktime-dev.INTRO
The Frequently Asked Questions WWW page can be referenced from the home
page. If you do not have WWW, you can ftp it from:
ftp://abs.apple.com/pub/quicktime-dev/quicktime-dev.FAQ.html

============
2) Important Mail Server commands
============
To post to the list, send mail to [e-mail]. You must
be a subscriber to the list to post to it. Listproc (the mail server we
use) is very picky about your address: if you work from multiple machines
or  forward mail from one place to another, it is very likely not to
recognize you as a subscriber. Please keep that in mind and subscribe and
post from your primary account.

All server commands are sent to the address "[e-mail]".
Do not send server commands to the actual list! That is considered very
rude to the user base.

You can put more than one command in an e-mail message. Please note
that if your e-mail messages contain signatures or footer lines,
listproc will attempt to read them as commands and return an error to you.
This can be ignored if you also get the confirmation back on the earlier
commands. You SHOULD get a confirmation e-mail letter (or error warning) for EVERY
command you send to listproc. If you didn't, something went wrong. Try it again,
and if it still doesn't work, contact the admin address for help ([e-mail]).

The following commands are the most common ones. These are used in the
body of the e-mail message, not the Subject line. Leave the Subject
line blank. Below, for listname use quicktime-dev (NOT
[e-mail]), and for your name, use your real name, not
your e-mail address.

To get on the list:
SUBSCRIBE listname your name
(example: SUBSCRIBE quicktime-dev Riker Sandvik)

To cancel your subscription:
UNSUBSCRIBE listname

To turn on DIGEST mode:
SET listname MAIL DIGEST

To turn off DIGEST mode:
SET listname MAIL ACK (yes, it's amazingly intuitive. I didn't write it)

Other commands: [do note include text in brackets]
GET listproc intro.to.listproc [a more complete tutorial] HELP  [some
basic commands. get the tutorial]
LISTS   [tells you what lists are on this server]
INFO listname   [get intro for another list]

Example (based on Unix. your mailer will vary): % mail
[e-mail]
Subject:

SUBSCRIBE quicktime-dev Riker Sandvik
SET quicktime-dev MAIL DIGEST
HELP
LIST
GET listproc intro.to-listproc
INFO quicktime-dev
<EOF>
%

============
3) Charter: What's Acceptable, What's Not ============
Everyone is requested to read the rules and charter at least once and
to please abide by them. Failure to cooperate can lead to having your
posting privileges revoked, or to find yourself removed from the list
completely.

Please note: the List Mom ([e-mail]) have the final and ONLY
say as to what is and isn't appropriate content. If you are requested
to close out a discussion, take it to e-mail, or shift it to one of the
other mailing lists, please comply. You can discuss the situation with us, and we're
willing to listen, but ultimately, nobody else gets a vote.

Anyone who feels a posting or message thread is out of line should
contact the List Mom. Users who try to take content issues into their
own hands will only make the List Mom very unhappy with them and are
subject to discipline like any person who violates the charter.

These rules are in place because users taking content issues into their
own hands is one of the most common causes of flamewars. The List Moms
don't like flamewars. Let's all work together to keep the lists a fun place
to be.


+++ Acceptable uses:

This list is designed as a place where developers who are using
QuickTime and QuickTime for Windows can discuss things. We at Apple
want to encourage the use of QuickTime, but otherwise we plan to keep our
hands off the list to the greatest extent possible. Note that this mailing list is not an
official Apple support channel. For more information about Apple developer
supportprograms, contact Developer Support ([e-mail]).

Anything having to do with QuickTime development (API level, content
development and so on) is acceptable. We request, however, that
questions related to MacroMedia Director and similar tools should be
directed to other forums and mailing lists.

Tools, software, techniques, hints and anything else having to do with
Apple and Internet are welcome. Apple will also provide the list
members with up-to-date information concerning QuickTime technical issues.

+++ Unacceptable uses:

o General Macintosh questions. These should be referred to info-mac or
one of the comp.sys.mac.* USENET groups.

o Do not post to multiple mailing lists! Find the MOST APPROPRIATE list
and post there. Shotgun mailings only fragment the response and cause
people to duplicate time and effort trying to deal with the question. There
is NO reason for anyone other than the List Moms to post the same message to
both lists.

o For Sale or Wanted to Buy messages. Don't post either to these lists
under any circumstances.

o Blatant sales hype and pitches. Low-key notes and press releases are
okay. Use discretion. The same general attitude that USENET takes on
this stuff is the guideline here. If you aren't absolutely sure, run it
past the List Mom first and get an opinion.

o Flaming and abusive language: We consider the users of this list to
be mature, intelligent people. The few who prove themselves exceptions
will find little patience from the List Moms.

You may not use addresses obtained from this list to harass others or
send them offensive, abusive or blatantly commercial e-mail. People who
abuse other members of this list, either in public or private, are in
violation of this list's charter. If a user is upset enough by your e-mail to report
it to us in a complaint, then as List Mom, we have the responsibility to
investigate the problem and take action if we feel it necessary.

o Do not post copyrighted material. It's illegal to type something in
from a newspaper verbatim, or repost something sent out via Clarinet.
Yes, we know it happens all over the net. That doesn't make it right or
legal. If you DO do it, you put both yourself and us as owners of the list at legal
risk if the copyright holder decides to fight. You CAN post a pointer to
the work, summarize what the work is saying, post quotes from the work
within the boundaries of fair use (and feel free to ask us if you aren't sure), but
posting entire articles is a major no-no. Failure to cooperate on this one can get you
kicked off the list, so please be careful. If you aren't sure, ask first.

o Do not post or forward messages of general interest, mass-distributed
warnings, rumors, good samaritan messages or chain letters to this
list. Craig Shergold doesn't want any more postcards, honest. Before posting
anything like this, check with the List Moms to determine whether it's
appropriate. We don't care how important you think the subject is, whether
it's a new computer virus rumor or a get well card -- it's not appropriate for
this list unless we've cleared it in advance. Period. Users who violate
this rule will lose their posting privileges to the listproc.

Users who are found in violation of the charter are subject to disciplinary
action, from warnings to removal of their posting privileges to being
banned from use of the mailing lists on this server. If you can't behave,
we feel no responsibility to let you use the services we provide.

+++ Suggestions for being a good citizen

o Before you POST, check the FAQ and the home page to see if the
answers are already in the archive. Let's try to avoid having to answer
the same questions over, and over, and over.

o Keep postings as short as possible. Short and to the point questions
will get most likely answered rather than very complicated and long
postings.

o If you include quoted material, edit it ruthlessly. Keep the smallest
amount necessary for context. Do NOT simply leave it stuck to the end
of your message (as mailers like QuickMail like to do), since it REALLY
screws up the digest users. Edit, edit, edit!

o Keep signatures as short as possible.

o Keep Subject lines relevant. If the topic changes, change the
Subject. If you are a digest reader, CHANGE the Subject to the
appropriate Subject. If you don't, all we see is "Re: QuickTime $...",
which is meaningless, and which many readers don't bother to read. Take a
little time and make the Subject line useful.

o Before you POST, check the FAQ and the home page to see if the
answers are already in the archive. Let's try to avoid having to answer
the same questions over, and over, and over.

o Ask yourself if it's necessary to post to the entire list. If you
aren't sure, e-mail it privately to the person you're responding to.

o If someone asks a question and you want a copy of the answers, e-mail
the request PRIVATELY. Don't send it to the entire list.

o If you ask a question and people send you answers, PLEASE send copies
to people that ask. If you get more than a couple of requests, then
please put the answers together and post a summary to the list, AND e-mail
a copy to the List Mom so it can be put in the archive so future users can get it
without asking the question again.

o Please keep the length of lines in messages posted to the list to no
more than 72 characters. If your mailer doesn't auto-wrap things
(Eudora does; most Unix mailers do NOT) then make sure you hit the return key
instead of sending huge, one-line paragraphs. Those can be unreadable to many
users.

o In general, the harder it is for a person to read your message, the
less likely the person with the answer to your question will bother to
respond. Make it as easy as possible for people to read your message, and
people will. Putting a little time into cleaning things up before you send it off
can mean the difference between silence and getting the answer you need,
and is the difference between someone being a good net.citizen and someone who
comes across as a net.slob.

============
4) Archive locations
============

The basic archive is by anonymous ftp or gopher to host abs.apple.com,
in the directory ~ftp/pub/quicktime-dev.

All messages to the list are archived in the "message-archives" folder.

If you have no access via FTP, the files can be accessed through
listproc. See the intro.to.listproc for instructions. Note that because
this is a very lightly used function and somewhat time intensive for the
List Mom,it's rarely completely up to date. I do what I can. Consider it a last resort,
though.

The archives are cataloged and available through the WWW. Use the
list's home page at: http://abs.apple.com/pub/quicktime-dev/

---- end of quicktime-dev.INTRO ----