| Frequently
Asked Questions @ The Astrologer's Water Cooler
|
My
ideals for rich astrological discussion occur after
having experienced the "free-for-alls"
at alt.astrology and on other lists. I have
maintained in fairly rigorous order (not perfectly,
not consistently!) the spirit of an on-topic astrological
list. It is the reader that concerns me, and the
writers who are rejected at first learn to respect
that care for the reader is a priority. What
the writing members are learning (as I regularly
reject many of them!) is that their second submissions
get the responses, and keep the discussion lively.
That is my goal.
I hope
to promote critical thinking in astrology, and hope
that astrologers might appreciate more in-depth
coverage of subject matter. Your thoughts
and ideas are welcome. You are under no obligation
except to elevate our discussion as it continues
into a greater understanding, either from experience
or from your own chart, of the fascination of astrology.
I am
a writer, publicist and former newspaper editor,
and consider such editorial skills as an asset for
this list. It is always a delight to hear from anyone
who wishes to write to me privately. I thank
you for your participation and look forward to long
discussions into the night on our favorite subject.
ALWAYS
INCLUDE THE BIRTH DATA Never hesitate to
include it regularly. If you should omit the
birth data while describing a chart, astrologers
must chorus the same question: "Where's the
birth data?" Time, date and place, please.
Always offer the option for the astrologer to calculate
the chart. The mind-twisting that goes on
with listing "Moon in Scorpio, Sun in Virgo,"
etcetera, is a very demanding request to make when
aspects are described or listed, instead of offering
a look at a chart. (back
to the top)
AVOID
DIGEST NUMBERS FOR THE SUBJECT HEADER The
"digest subscriber's" Subject Line ("Digest
Number 271") is vague, uninformative and misleading.
Please use a phrase from within the text of your
letter to re-name your messages to the list to have
appropriate titles. Without the "meaty"
subject line, most readers figure the post should
be skipped and do not read the post. (back
to the top)
Also
avoid: "To CF" or "Dear Ken"
in the subject header. Post under the correct header,
the thread that you started was not called, "To
CF". As such, it looks as if it is private
email, which is what I reccommend for private messages.
If you want to call attention to a single member and
your post is intended for the entire list, please
address them in the post, not in the subject header.
A
good subject header gives the membership a specific
reason to read yous post. Your post
may be rejected if you allow it to go to the list,
using "Digest Number 2009" or some such,
which offers to the reader no information about
what you are writing, and breaks down the "search
thread" function at Yahoo, already a weakened
search environment.
The
subject header is only useful when you actually
name your specific subject. Also,
"Pluto in Virgo" is not helpful if nothing
else in your post mentions it. As a rule,
find a phrase to qualify as a title after you have
finished writing. There are usually several
good ones hidden in your text. I reserve the right
to change these to make the relevant choice on subject
headers.
MODERATOR
MAY EDIT: if my time is not too short,
I may edit your text if you have an obvious spelling
that would enable readers to better enjoy it if
I just tinkered a little. The Subject Header
is the only part of the message which the moderator
cannot change without shipping an error message
instead of a post to the group. (back
to the top)
WHAT
TO DO WITH THE PREVIOUS LETTER If
you choose not comment upon the previous letter,
remove it completely. If you change the subject
when you remove the previous letter, please also
change the Subject Header line. The subject
header is one place where writers can be very expressive
and helpful to the reader. This is what attracts
people to read; if the list is busy, you will be
competing with all the other writers for various
astrologers' attention. Even if the list is slow,
you are competing with people's busy lives.
QUOTATION
MARKERS of the previous post: REMOVAL OF>>
(quotations) IS CONFUSING When >> (quotations)
markers are gone, no one is sure which are your
responses as opposed to the comments by the previous
writer. Please leave them in place. When
these markers show up, they signify the work of
the previous writer and enable the reader to follow
what the gist of the conversation may be. (back
to the top)
PRIVATE
MESSAGE: The short "thank you note"
is a private letter and should be addressed privately.
If it is a personal response, intended for only
one person, it is a private message. Their e-mail
address is always included in your post. If
you cannot see it, use the "properties"
menu when you left-click on the email (in MSOutlook)
If you are responding to the digest and the person's
e-mail address has been removed, go to the YahooGroups.com
site and seek the membership information there.
Or, contact the moderator. (back
to the top)
PLACE
YOUR POST ON TOP: Always write to the top
of the previous writer's work. Place your text above
the previous post's text, and leave a few sentences
and the time signatures, "header" information,
remove the Yahoo links. Don't place your post in
an inferior position as a courtesy to others on
the list. (back to the
top)
THE
ARCHIVES CONTAIN MANY SECRETS Of course,
find the archives and delve deeply there. If you
are commenting from the archives, please include
the link to the archive which launched your writing.
(back to the top)
YOUR
MEMBERSHIP IS AN HONOR (not a right)
You are welcome to post to the list, and any rejections
of posts are not singled out by any means!
However, I have some standards that take patience
and some courage to become acquainted. I hope
that you will return soon, and that you will find
there is much learning going on as you participate.
(back to the top)
OFF-TOPIC:
A thread becomes "off topic"
when it references subjects external to astrology;
it can often just as well be sent privately.
(back to the top)
OBFUSCATION
When a writer responds to a previous post but demonstrates
his point with unclear or unrelated references,
it may indicate his lack of understanding, or lack
of critical thinking, and risks being rejected on
the basis of obfuscation.
SPIRIT
OF DISCUSSION: If you are prolific, and
want to engender discussion around a hot topic of
your own, please do not invade the list with more
than one or two new topics per week. If you are
inclined to work in that fashion, I reccommend you
start your own discussion group, or post to your
own blog or website. This list is created in my
fashion, to my taste. You may do your own will at
your own site. I am doing mine, surprisingly to
many, at my own discussion group. That is the spirit
of the (less hostile) Internet. (back
to the top)
To
one writer I asked, "Do you brashly walk into
a party where people are in conversation and just
abruptly suggest a new topic that to the conversation
in progress, one which has no relationship to it
at all?" (See
the newbie
page, please.)
(back to the top)
While
these requests are made in the spirit of discussion,
please do not assume that criticism is being weighed
against you. This is a courtesy
to allow you to flourish and enjoy to the maximum
that which discussion might offer. I look
forward to "hearing" more from you on
the list and thank you for your courtesies and interest.
(back to the top)
FREE
READING: Newbies
Welcome: "Free Readings" discouraged.
Let us teach you to read it for yourself. Attention
given to the needs of those new to the study of
astrology. Read the welcome letter's "newbie
link" to succeed with your first post.
For the long-time members of the list who have posted
and shown they are interested in being a part of
discussion, oftentimes a "free reading"
comes out to establish a point, or to offer some
solace, as we are becoming friends and it is a part
of the on-going discussion. (back
to the top)
MODERATOR WEARINESS
Sometimes a thread is just thread bare. I get weary
of it as it becomes an exclusive argument to which
no one else may add their two cents, mostly because
chart data is not listed and so none may participate
by throwing in a comment from looking at a chart.
Because time is mostly short, you may notice that
your post has not been published, and that I am
too weary to explain. (back
to the top)
UNSUBSCRIBE
All members freely subscribe and unsubscribe at
will. The links are on the bottom of every
post. The moderators have no idea who is on or off
at any time, since maintaining a "gate keeper"
position is an unnecessary drain on the moderator's
time. (back to the top)
Tell
me your thoughts.
The
astrologer's water cooler was "born" May
23, 1998, at 07:08 PDT, Sonoma, CA, USA. As usual,
such births are thrust upon us by events, at times
not necessarily elected astrologically. |
