ListServ

NCEW's e-mail discussion lists

The National Conference of Editorial Writers maintains an e-mail discussion list (commonly called a listserv) for members to exchange messages with the membership about issues of professional interest and importance. It's address is NCEW@NCEW.NET. Members of NCEW are normally automatically signed up for this service. Nonmembers of the organization with a professional or academic interest in editorial writing and editing must get permission to join. This is a high-volume service, often generating a large volume of discussion daily.

In addition, NCEW occasionally communicates directly to members by e-mail. Official messages are not part of the discussion service; any responses go only to headquarters, not to the entire membership.

Please let NCEW Headquarters know of any questions about using NCEW@NCEW.NET or if you find the list is malfunctioning in any way by sending a note to ncew@pa-news.org.

What Is NCEW@NCEW.NET

Perhaps you have a problem, and you'd like the advice of fellow NCEW members as to how they have handled a similarly difficult situation. Perhaps you've found a solution to a problem you know vexes other editorial page personnel at other papers. Maybe you've found a great resource on the Internet you'd like to share. Or you have a question about some development, in the news or in the profession, and would like to get other opinions or bounce an idea off a few people.

That's what NCEW@NCEW.NET is for. By simply sending one email message, you can reach all the NCEW members subscribing to the list with your message. Members who wish may add to the discussion by sending their responses to the list, for similar distribution. (Or they may send their response directly to you alone, if that seems more appropriate.) All that's required is an email account.

Note: This list is not moderated; that is, the messages are not routinely screened before they are distributed. It is managed, however, to discourage heated disputes and keep the exchanges on topic, when necessary. NCEW retains the right to reject messages that fail to reflect the purposes of the list and the organization.

Who May Join NCEW@NCEW.NET

To be eligible to sign up for NCEW@NCEW.NET, you must be a current, paid-up member of the National Conference of Editorial Writers. Certain others with a professional or academic interest in editorial writing and editing may be eligible to participate with special permission from the NCEW President.

Signing Up

To participate in the NCEW@NCEW.NET discussion list, send a message to the NCEW Headquarters at ncew@pa-news.org including your name and e-mail address. Your membership status will be confirmed and your name added to the list. The computer server is updated twice a week, usually on Wednesdays and Fridays. (New members are automatically added to the list when they apply for membership.)

How to use the list

Once you are enrolled, to send a message to everyone on the list, address your email to NCEW@NCEW.NET, write your message and send it off. Remember that your email is going to everybody on the list. If your message is of interest only to one member, it is better to address it directly to that member. Check the "To:" line of your response to make sure it is going where you intend it to go; sending personal email to the list by mistake can cause embarrassment.

In the interest of free and open discussion and to better carry out the goals of NCEW, list members are requested to exercise the same reasonable verbal decorum and consideration for others as they would were they attending an NCEW meeting or similar event.

Creating an "inbox rule" in Microsoft Outlook

For anyone who finds the listserv messages too distracting, it is possible to create a special "listserv only basket" where messages can await opening at a convenient time. The following is a generic model for creating an inbox rule in Microsoft Outlook. You may also contact headquarters at ncew@pa-news.org and ask to have your listserv messages come through in "digest mode." This allows all listserv communications to be delivered to your mailbox at one time, around 6:00 p.m. each day.

The following are steps to create an inbox rule to route mail based on subject line content.  It is also possible to define rules that operate based on the sender's address or various other criteria or combinations of criteria.  It should not be difficult to extrapolate on the given example to create more complex and powerful inbox rules.

1. In Outlook, right-click "Inbox" and select "New Folder..."

2. In the "Name" field of the resulting window, specify a name for the folder and in the lower part of the pane select where to create it.  (By default it will be created as a subfolder under "Inbox.")

3. Click the "Tools" menu and select "Rules Wizard..."

4. Click the "New..." button in the upper right of the window.

5. The entry "Check messages when they arrive" will be highlighted by default.  Click the "Next" button

6. In the "Conditions" area, scroll down and check the box beside "with specific words in the subject."

7. In the "Rule description" area, click on the underlined text that says "specific words."

8. In the "Add New" field of the "Search Text" window, type the portion of the subject line that uniquely identifies the category of messages for which you are creating this rule.  (For example, all messages from a certain listserv might contain the text "[NCEW-L].")  Click the "Add" button, then the "OK" button.

9. Click the "Next" button.

10. Check the box beside "move it to the specified folder."  In the "Rule description" area, click the underlined text that says "specified."

11. In the "Choose a folder" area, select the folder you created in step 2 then click "OK."

12. Click the "Finish" button, then in the "Rules Wizard" window click "OK."  The rule should now automatically route all mail meeting the defined criteria to the newly created folder.

No attachments please

Please make sure your e-mail client is set to send mail in plain text. Some e-mail programs will allow you to format a message in HTML, as though it were a Web page, or include your message as an attachment. Some appear to try to compel you to do so. Resist. Sending messages as attachments is a bother for readers and sending messages in HTML format causes various unnecessary problems for recipients (including not being able to read them) and serves no useful purpose for the sender.

May we quote you?

Every now and again, the exchanges among members of NCEW-NET are so interesting, so useful, perhaps even so overwhelmingly compelling, that list members or others wish to share our ideas with others. As a result, the list has established three principles on quoting:

When you write a message, do so with the understanding that it may be quoted beyond the confines of NCEW-NET. (Be aware, too, that the list goes to more people than you are probably personally aware of, and that email in general is not a secure means of communication.)

If you wish to reuse a message, do so in a manner that respects the intentions of, and does not embarrass in any way, the writer of the message.

If you wish to reuse a message, make a conscientious attempt to let the writer know of your intent and to seek consent, as a matter of professional courtesy.

Some suggestions to make this mailing list useful:

1. Be brief: Reduce your message to its essentials. Unduly long messages slow down computer mail transmission and are tedious to read on screen.

2. Be relevant: Make sure messages you post are of interest to NCEW membership. Messages that are primarily personal should be sent to the intended recipient directly, not posted on NCEW@NCEW.NET. Use your judgment, though: sometimes a response to a single individual's question can evoke additional or supplementary responses, in which case posting it on this list could be valuable.

3. Be kind: Remember that email messages may not convey the benign intentions of the senders. Even a good-natured barb or bit of sarcasm may be read as an attack on the recipient. Remember, too, that some users of this list will be novices at computer email or at journalism; please don't malign ineptitude.

4. Cite the original message: When responding to a message, quote the relevant portion briefly (very briefly) at the top of your response, so that readers who haven't seen the start of the exchange will have some idea what's going on.

Removing your name from the list

If for any reason you need to leave the discussion list, either temporarily or permanently, please send your request to NCEW Headquarters at ncew@pa-news.org.