Conference rules for the EMERGCOM echo:                  rev. 25 Feb 13   
    Posting Frequency: 1st of the month.   
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    By posting in this echo you agree to abide by these posted rules. They   
    are posted on the first day of every month for your convenience.   
      
    We welcome you to the emergcom echo and hope you find this forum   
    helpful in your public service radio endeavors. The purpose of the   
    emergcom echo is to assist volunteer radio operators with discussion   
    of techniques and equipment that can be of benefit to emergency and   
    disaster communicators. Though its primary focus is on amateur radio   
    emergency and disaster communications discussion of other radio   
    services is permitted.   
      
    We invite interested volunteer and professional communicators to   
    participate in emergcom and ask you to take note of a few simple rules   
    as follows:   
      
    1. This is not a place to advertise buy/sell trade items or wants.   
       Take it to the other echoes which are appropriate. Posters of   
       pyramid schemes, advertising 900 numbers etc. will not be warned   
       even once. Chain letters, get rich schemes etc. are not welcome   
       here! You can immediately lose your access to this echo. NO   
       discussion, no second warning. Multiline signatures are also   
       unwelcome. High ascii is permitted so long as it is necessary to   
       convey proper names of individuals, etc.   
      
    2. English is the official language of this echomail conference. We   
       understand that for many English is a second or third language   
       however, and expect participants to show some tolerance and not   
       parse posts by those individuals who don't natively speak the   
       language for errors.   
      
    3. Keep discussions friendly. Debate issues and don't attack   
       personalities. Hopefully we're all here to improve our ability to be   
       of service to the public during a communications emergency.   
      
    4. Our primary focus is radio communications in emergency or disaster   
       situations. We don't want a "ham vs. cb" or code vs. no code debate   
       raging here. Such debates are not welcome. Though the echo moderator   
       is a firm believer in the utility of continuous wave international   
       morse for communicating when all other modes aren't as useful there   
       is no desire to have the code vs. no code debates running here.   
       Every mode and/or technique has its place. Discussion of techniques   
       or radio services is not off topic so long as the focus is on   
       providing emergency and/or disaster communications. Discussion of   
       strengths and weaknesses of various modes will not be considered off   
       topic so long as the discussion is friendly and sticks to facts and    
       carefully considered opinions.   
      
    5. Echo participants who cannot follow these simple rules will be   
       warned once via fidonet netmail. IF that fails he/she will be   
       warned in the echo. This moderator prefers to handle such warnings   
       via netmail however. IF a public warning is warranted because   
       netmail doesn't work then I'll post to the offending thread and ask   
       that it be taken elsewhere or remain topical. To keep moderation out   
       of the public echo, the moderator asks that a poster warned via   
       netmail respond to the message indicating that it was received.   
      
       Upon a second occurrence the operator of the system where you read   
       this echo will be asked to curtail your access. IF the offending   
       party is a sysop his/her feed will be contacted. sysops hosting   
       posters who warrant moderator attention will be contacted via   
       fidonet netmail and advised. If a sysop does not offer users netmail   
       access we ask that he/she notify the offending users of our   
       communication. Upon a second offense the moderator will see to   
       getting the user's access cut. we want you to continue to   
       participate, and we would really rather not be in the business of   
       policing fidonet traffic. Please note that most moderator postings   
       to the echo will be clearly identified. Otherwise the moderator   
       will participate in the echo using his real name.   
      
    6. NO gating of this echo outside fidonet without express moderator   
       approval.   
      
    7. Important for sysops: Check your configuration. Posts from you or   
       your users should show a valid FIdonet address in the header or   
       origin line. Both would be nice, but one place is mandatory! Any   
       poster who has access should be able to automatically reply via   
       netmail to a post in the echo. This helps keep off topic chatter off   
       echoes, as well as enables the moderators to deal with undesirable   
       conditions in the echo. This one isn't negotiable, no gray areas.   
      
    8. Your moderator has a zero tolerance policy for spam. Anyone   
       providing a gate or other automated posting facility from an   
       internet listserv or usenet forum should endeavor to block all   
       postings which are not relevant to the stated purpose of the echo.   
       IF this cannot be done reliably the system operator providing such a   
       gateway will be warned once. Upon a second occurrence the moderator   
       will endeavor to institute a feed cut. Anyone wishing to provide   
       such a gateway should first contact the moderator before instituting   
       such a gateway. Your moderator suggests you monitor such a listserv   
       or forum for a sufficient period of time to assure yourself that   
       there will be no need for moderator action resulting from such a   
       gateway.   
      
    9. The moderator will appoint additional moderators as he sees the need   
       and subject to their willingness to serve in that capacity. Leave   
       moderating to the moderator and duly appointed co-moderators. Take   
       rules debates and discussions to netmail or email, not in the echo.   
      
    The echo tag emergcom is copyright 2007 by Richard Webb.   
      
    Please address comments or questions to the moderator at 1:3634/12.   
      
    Richard Webb : moderator emeritus   
    Mark Lewis   : moderator   
      
      
    * Origin: (1:3634/12)