[arch-general] Mailing list etiquette

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Tue, 12 Apr 2016 03:08:06 -0400, Eli Schwartz wrote:
>On 04/12/2016 02:23 AM, Stephen wrote:
>> I apologise, I didn't realise this was the case. I've often read, but
>> never participated in, mailing lists. Is there a list of "common
>> etiquette" that you'd recommend reading? I'd like to avoid
>> embarrassing issues such as this again.  
>
>You can google "mailing list etiquette" to see some examples.
>
>The main rules are:
>- plaintext, not HTML mail
>- no attachments

Some mailing lists allow small attachments. But it's also common
practise to use http://pastebin.com/, http://picpaste.com/ and smlar
sites and then just to post links.

>- wrap lines at 72 characters

At around 72, <= 80. 72 is the most common used value.
When posting snippets of code or command line output, line wrapping
should be avoided.

>- post replies inline, below the quote (bottom-posting)
>- remove extraneous quoted matter, especially nested quotes

In addition:

- If somebody wants to reply to digest, MIME digest should be used, to
  keep subject and thread of the original posts.

Reply-to headers shouldn't be used, they could break mailing list
replies for some MUAs on some mailing lists and we usually should reply
to the mailing lists only.