Impers online

Forum

There the club's big forum. You can join the forum without joining the club (The Imp Club UK Ltd.) yo gain entrance to most of the forum, except the club parts.

Facebook

The Hillman Imp Club - a public Facebook group

Mailing list for Impers

On Sunday 8 February 1998 a mailing list was started. It has attracted 250+ impers. All online Imp enthusiasts are invited to join.

This list is free. It is not connected to The Imp Club UK. Nor is it directly related to the "Impers on the Net" page, although it may be an idea to introduce yourself there, too.

The public daily archive is kept since the end of September 1998. You can use this file to check if you receive everything.

This mailing list for Impers is meant as a means of friendly communication between those with an internet connection and a fondness of Imps. The subject should be 'Imps' (so don't send any chain mail and please be very discriminative with anything off-topic). Let's help eachother in preserving the breed. Impers Online, Unite !   ;-)  And who knows, it may even get educational...

A mailing list is a way to communicate and share information with many people via e-mail. People join imps@egroups.com by subscribing. When they have been subscribed, they will receive all messages sent to imps@egroups.com. And they themselves can send messages that will be received by all the other users. If you reply to a message that has reached you via your membership of a list, your reply to that message will go to the list.

This list imps, is an open unmoderated list.
Open: Anyone may subscribe to the list.
Unmoderated: The messages that are posted to the List are automatically distributed to all members without being censored.
Because of this, it is every member's responsibility to follow common guidelines for email etiquette, (netiquette), and accepted policies.
Furthermore: The list owner cannot be held responsible for the more creative thoughts that may be presented as facts on this list. Information found on imps@egroups.com is put into practice at your own peril. ;-)

Drawback
Though there is no charge to subscribe to this list, it is not entirely free either: ONElist is selling adverts. Each message, that their listserver sends out, will end with an advert. But they don't allow spam and they don't sell any addresses - so that is ok.

You can add yourself.
Those who join will be expected to observe netiquette.

There exists another list: For Imp owners Down Under 'OzImps'. For more information, Imp Register Australia. It's for NZ, too.

Over the years that e-mail has been in use (since the dawn of the Internet over 30 years ago) some interesting rules and traditions have developed to make e-mail more efficient.
There are many traditions and accepted methods that together make up the concept of netiquette (short for internet etiquette). If you are contributing to an e-mail discussion list you ought to respect these well-established guidelines on composing messages. Netiquette is nothing more than simple common courtesy, common sense and consideration for others.

• Cut all the redundant bits of text and leave only those parts that you actually reply to
• Do re-read your message before sending it
• Do use a subject line that reflects your message
  and adapt the subject line if the subject has changed during the discussion
• Do limit line length and avoid control characters
• Do have a sense of humor :-)

• Do not post in html
• Don't send attachments to mailing lists
• Don't use all caps in your text. It makes it seem like you're SHOUTING
• Don't send a message to the list to ask to be unsubscribed. Those messages should go to the list owner. (Or unsub yourself; it's not hard)

Do:

• Do quote ! References need to be made. When you answer mail, you have the original message fresh in your mind. When the list members receive your answer, they might not.
  Just don't include the entire message that you are replying to. Cut it down to the minimum needed to provide context to your answer. E.g. what you definitely don't need to quote is the onelist advert...
• Keep your questions and comments relevant to the focus of the discussion group. Don't bother the list with chain mail or the common internet hoaxes.
• Keep in mind that Imps@egroups.com has users from more than one country. Don't assume that they are fluent in English (or get the same TV channels as you, et cetera.)
• If you crosspost messages to multiple groups, include the name of the groups at the top of the mail message.
• Do use your e-mail software settings so as not to send anything but plain ascii text.

Don't:

• Don't send off-topic messages
• Don't use the list for a conversation between two users, unless you think other users on the list may benefit in some way.
• It is considered extremely rude to forward personal email to mailing lists without the original author's permission.
• Resist the temptation to 'flame' others on the list. Be civil, allow for human errors and don't expose yourself as a digital Neanderthaler. ;-)
  Don't join this list just to post inflammatory messages - this upsets the listowner.
• If another person posts a comment or question that is off the subject, do NOT reply to the list and keep the off-subject conversation going publicly.
• When someone posts an off-subject note, and someone else criticizes that posting, you should NOT submit a gratuitous note saying "well, I liked it and lots of people probably did as well and you guys ought to lighten up and not tell us to stick to the subject".

Smileys
Subtlety is not always communicated well in written form. Remember, most people who will read your posting do not know you. Facial expression and intonation can partly be substituted by smileys; they can sometimes avoid confusion. (They are sometimes called 'emoticons', as not all are cheerful.)
smiley   :-)      frown   :-(      wink   ;-)
The unofficial smiley dictionary
Smileys
Emoticons
Smileys

BTW
Some well-known e-mail(/usenet) abbreviations:

• IMHO - In My Humble/Honest Opinion
• FYI - For Your Information
• BTW - By The Way
• RTFM - Read The Fine/Fucking Manual
• LOL - Laughing Out Loud / Lots Of Laughter

Count to ten
E-mail stands for fast replies. When you feel provoked by a message, it's easy to send an abusive reply in next to no time. Do contain your overly emotional responses. Don't flame your fellow listmembers. (Flame: intended to insult, provoke or rebuke.)
When being especially "flame-boyant", take a break before actually sending. Reconsider the tone of your reply, maybe tone it down.
I'm hoping that this list wil be useful, helpful and friendly. Having started it, I feel somewhat responsible.

Off-topic
Think twice about forwarding messages. So the next time someone e-mails you about another doomsday virus, or that Bill Gates is going to give you $100 just by forwarding an e-mail, stop and think where is this information really coming from? Chances are, it's just a hoax.
Unless you know it to be true, don't forward information on viruses. Stick to the subject of Imps.

Capitals
Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or to distinguish a title or heading. *Asterisks* surrounding a word also can be used to make a stronger point. And there are _more_ ways to emphasize. Capitalizing whole sentences is generally termed as SHOUTING!

Summarize for the group
When posting a question to the mailing list (on which you expect a lot of answers), you might request that responses be directed to you personally. If you do receive responses, then don't forget to post a summary or answer to your question to the group.

The list owner's job
In general, the list owner is responsible for keeping the list interesting and on-topic. The list owner is also responsible for promoting the mailing list. You can contact me at imps-owner@egroups.com

If someone is sending inappropriate messages to this list, there are several ways to deal with it.
An explanation on the subject of netiquette or a warning message might be the first step. If a person continues to send inappropriate messages, their ability to post to the list can be turned off. Or the person can be unsubscribed from the list, if drastic measures are called for. It is the responsibility of the users of this list to take heed of netiquette.

Don't use too many words. This means 'concise', not cryptic.

Just before you post your article, re-read it. This will ensure that you actually wrote what you intended to write.

We will long-remember your gaffes.