The MEDIA LITERACY DISCUSSION LIST - MEDIA-L

To subscribe to the Media-L list, do the following:  Using a web
browser, go to:

       http://mailman.nmsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/Media-L

Once you have accessed the list's information page, you should see a
section that will allow you to subscribe to the list. Type your email
address and a password. The password that you select should be only
for this mailing list.

Once you have filled in the information requested in the
"Subscribing" section, click on the "Subscribe" button. Mailman will
send an email message to your email address. The message that you
receive will ask you to confirm your subscription request. This helps
to prevent other people from adding you to a list without your
permission.  When you receive the confirmation request, simply reply
to the message. You do not have to add any additional text and you
should not modify the subject line.

After successfully subscribing to the list, Mailman should send you a
welcome message. The message will include the URL that will direct
you to the list's information page, a URL that will direct you to
your personal settings page, and your list password. You should keep
the welcome message for future reference.

To "post" messages to the list, send your message to this address:
Media-L@nmsu.edu
Messages sent to this address by subscribers to the list are
immediately sent out to all subscribers to the list.  You must send
the message from the e-mail address you used to subscribe to the
list.

-------------------------- list guidelines & instructions -----------

MEDIA-L

Media-L is a list for media literacy sponsored by the Southern New
Mexico Media Awareness Council.

SO WHAT IS THIS LIST?

It's called Media-L and is open to teachers, administrators, media
professionals, researchers and others with an active involvement in
projects or issues related to media literacy. The list has
subscribers from all over the  world and many widely known media
literacy experts, researchers, and teachers are on the list.

The major focus of the list is to provide a forum for the exchange of
ideas and information related to a broad scope of media literacy
subjects, activities, research and teaching.

We expect this to be a "friendly" list where discussions are
conducted in a courteous, supportive atmosphere. We strongly
discourage "flames" (messages cutting others down) and personal
attacks. That doesn't mean we don't disagree - to the contrary - a
very wide range of views are represented here and all are encouraged
to share their views and the reasons for holding them, but in a
respectful, constructive way avoiding personal attacks, "name
calling," and "bashing."

MEDIA-L LIST GUIDELINES CONCERNING POSTING OF MATERIAL
RELATED TO SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS:

It is expected that material that is posted regarding specific
organizations be of a "general interest nature." Posts by members of
an organization intended mostly for members of that same organization
should be avoided.

OK TO POST:

Announcements and information on meetings, conventions, symposia, or
other activities that are open to persons outside of the sponsoring
organization. Also the availability of materials, helps, etc. from
the organization which are offered to all.

Requests to persons outside the organization for general input
regarding structure, funding, policies, etc. of the posting
organization and responses to those requests.

Discussions, summaries, reviews, etc. of the content of activities of
an organization which were open to persons outside the sponsoring
organization.

NOT OK TO POST:

Announcements and information on meetings or activities intended
primarily only for members of the sponsoring organization.

Discussion about internal policies, structure, funding, schedules,
governance, etc. specific to an organization. Such internal
discussions are better held on a list intended primarily for members
of the organization and should not be posted to a general list like
Media-L.

Discussions, summaries, reviews, etc. of the content of activities of
an organization which were NOT primarily open to persons outside the
sponsoring organization.

MEDIA-L LIST GUIDELINES CONCERNING POSTING OF MATERIAL THAT MIGHT BE
CONSIDERED COMMERCIAL IN NATURE:

Since the subscribers to this list generally benefit from learning
about the availability of new materials and resources (including
those for sale or produced commercially) we allow the posting of
information on commercial products within the following guidelines.

OK TO POST:

Items submitted by list subscribers that are not the producers of and
do not stand to profit by the sale of the materials described, are
encouraged. It is  appropriate to include information on the source
and cost of the materials. If the subscriber making the post has seen
or used the materials it would be good to include an informal review
as long as it is clear that this is the poster's opinion, only. In
other words, if you run onto useful media literacy materials, please
share with the rest of us.

Posts in response to other's questions regarding whether specific
materials (or kinds of materials) exist or where they can be found.
This should include information on source and cost when known. These
posts should be brief and to the point.

If you have produced materials, even if you stand to profit from
their sale, it is OK to announce their availability. Such an
announcement could contain simple ordering information. It should
simply and briefly describe the materials but shouldn't recommend
them, include phrases like "order now" or "the best available" etc.
Most important, your post should identify the fact that the materials
you are describing are yours and you are posting for information
only.

(ASIDE) I believe when organizations or individuals on this list have
worked hard to produce something intended to be of value to the
promotion, teaching, or understanding of media literacy and media
literacy issues... it is  appropriate for this list to serve as a
place to announce the successful completion of the work, especially
if the contributor is willing to answer questions and share with
others their experiences and lessons learned in the process. It is
encouraging to all of us to see others succeed, especially if we can
learn from their success. It can build positive energy and encourage
others to continue their efforts. That seems a good thing to promote
on this list.

NOT OK TO POST:

Anything that endorses, announces, advertises, or promotes materials
for sale that have little or nothing to do with media literacy.

Materials which attempt to persuade, convince or sway others to buy
or endorse the items offered rather than simply describe. This is
especially true if the poster is the producer of the items. Reviews
of items and materials posted by 3rd parties should be reasonably
objective and clearly identified as opinion.

Posts from direct sellers, retailers, mail order, or other
establishments (or individuals) whose sole interest in the materials
described is their sale and who are not producers or users of the
materials. For example, a book store that carries a book or books on
Media Literacy topics.

It is hoped these guidelines will be helpful to those who post and
that they will help make the list a more valuable and productive
forum for all. Thank you to all for your understanding and
willingness to follow these guidelines.

OK. SO HOW DO I JOIN THE LIST?

Using a web browser, go to:

       http://mailman.nmsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/Media-L

Once you have accessed the list's information page, you should see a
section that will allow you to subscribe to the list. Type your email
address and a password. The password that you select should be only
for this mailing list.

Once you have filled in the information requested in the
"Subscribing" section, click on the "Subscribe" button. Mailman will
send an email message to your email address. The message that you
receive will ask you to confirm your subscription request. This helps
to prevent other people from adding you to a list without your
permission.  When you receive the confirmation request, simply reply
to the message. You do not have to add any additional text and you
should not modify the subject line.

After successfully subscribing to the list, Mailman should send you a
welcome message. The message will include the URL that will direct
you to the list's information page, a URL that will direct you to
your personal settings page, and your list password. You should keep
the welcome message for future reference.

HOW DO I LEAVE THE LIST?

Using a web browser, go to:

       http://mailman.nmsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/Media-L

Under the list's Subscribers section you will see an "Unsubscribe or
edit options" button at the bottom of the page. Here, you can enter
your email address and click on the button.

This will take you to the list's "Member Options Login Page" page
where you  can unsubscribe by clicking the "Unsubscribe" button near
the bottom of the page. By clicking on the Unsubscribe button, a
confirmation message will be emailed to you. This message will have a
link that you should click on to complete the removal  process (you
can also confirm by email; see the instructions in the confirmation
message).

HOW DO I POST A MESSAGE?

1. To post a message to the list, simply e-mail it to:

Media-L@nmsu.edu

You must e-mail your message for the e-mail address you used to
subscribe to the list.

2. Your message will then be e-mailed back out to all subscribers.

HOW DO I CHANGE THE WAY THE LIST SENDS MAIL TO ME?

Under the list's Subscribers section you will see an "Unsubscribe or
edit options" button at the bottom of the page. Here, you can enter
your email address and click on the button.

This will take you to the list's "Member Options Login Page" page
where you can "Log In".  Using your login password, log in.  You will
go to a page showing your settings for the list, including how you
receive mail from the list.  Just follow the instructions on the page
to change your mail mode.  You can receive messages one-at-a-time, or
have the list group them into daily "digests".  You can temporarily
stop the list from sending you mail (while you´re away on vacation,
for example), or re-start the sending of mail.  You can also change
other list options like your password from this page.

WHAT DO I DO IF I´VE LOST OR FORGOTTEN MY PASSWORD?

Using a web browser, go to:

       http://mailman.nmsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/Media-L

Under the list's Subscribers section you will see an "Unsubscribe or
edit options" button at the bottom of the page. Here, you can enter
your email address and click on the button.

This will take you to the list's "Member Options Login Page" page
where you can "Log In", "Unsubscribe", or "Password Reminder" By
clicking on the "Remind" button at the bottom of the page, your list
password will be emailed to you.

FOR NEWBIES, WHAT IS AN E-MAIL  LIST?

E-mail lists are similar to computer bulletin boards or news groups
except that they use e-mail to distribute "posted" messages to the
subscribers of the list.  Lists are of the moderated and open types
and this one is open.... which means nobody reviews messages before
they are posted to the list. However, posting on our list is open
only to subscribers to the list.

On our list, the posting address is:
Media-L@nmsu.edu
You must send your post from the e-mail address you used to subscribe
to the  list.

When you subscribe to a List you get added to a mailing list and
every item posted to the List is e-mailed directly to you. When you
write to the  posting address, on open systems, everything that is
received at the posting e-mail address is automatically e-mailed back
out to every subscriber. This permits lively discussions.

Each List is dedicated to some specific area of interest and they can
be great resources for help, ideas, information, etc.

This list is administered by Jim Ficklin, Owner, SouthWest
Sound/Video, Las Cruces, NM and treasurer of the Southern New Mexico
Media Awareness Council. You can reach Jim by e-mail at:
jficklin@nmsu.edu

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why you might suddenly STOP receiving emails from the list:

Concerned list subscribers may want to know, so here's the deal.  As
owner of this list I get an error message every time something goes
wrong with any e-mail the list server computer sends out. This is a
BIG list, so that's about 50 error messages a day!  In an effort to
protect my sanity, I've set up the list serve computer to monitor
"bounced" e-mails and when e-mail to a list member "bounces" (ie.
gets sent back as undeliverable) a certain number of times within a
certain time span, the list serve computer automatically drops that
person from the list.  Most of the time, this simply serves to clean
off people who have moved, changed jobs, etc. and so the e-mail
address they subscribed with no longer works.

However, from time to time, this "auto drop" routine may get someone
who didn't intend to get dropped.  For example, if your account
enforces a limit to the number of messages that can be stored in your
e-mail box and you stop checking your e-mail for awhile, your e-mail
box will reach the limit and your e-mail provider will start
"bouncing" messages coming in for your e-mail box.  When this
happens, the list serve computer starts counting your "bounces" and
if it goes on long enough you get automatically dropped from the
list.

If such a thing has happened to you or someone you know, please
accept my apologies. I'm not angry at you for not being able to check
your e-mail.  Please, feel free to subscribe to the list again.  It's
just that I am not able to devote the time to sorting through 50
error messages a day to decide manually whether or not to remove
someone from the list.

If I do nothing, the number of error messages per day grows and grows
until finally the university computer administrator forces me to
"clean up" the list.  Hence, my best choice is the auto dropping of
subscribers to whom mail continually "bounces."  Thanks for
understanding.

Jim Ficklin, ListOwner: Media-L, jficklin@nmsu.edu