RWC Challenge Group Rules
Welcome to the Romance Writers' Community Challenge Group. PLEASE
take a moment to review this message before you begin posting to the list. It's
a long, but the rules are numbered and just scanning down and reading the
first line of each rule will probably be enough, unless you are new to e-mail
list or new to one of the rules for this list. If you have any questions or
problems let me know.
To learn more about the other RWC groups, or to look over the below rules
and other info about the group any time, simply check out this site
http://www.charlottedillon.com/RWC.html
Charlotte Dillon ~*~ RWCchallenge-owner@yahoogroups.com
Resources for Romance Writers
www.CharlotteDillon.com
About Us:
On the RWC Challenge group I send out writing challenges and you take
which of them you wish. The challenge might be for a go-for-broke weekend
where you write as many new pages on your manuscript as you can, or it
might be a two week challenge where you get to set your own goals of writing
or rewriting and how many pages you hope to finish each week and or day, or
it might be a long one, like a two month challenge. You take part in any
challenge you want to and skip the ones you don’t wish to take. To take part
in one of the challenges, you usually only have to write in to the group and
share what your goals will be for that challenge. Don’t worry, I announce each
challenge before it begins, explain what kind and how long it will be, and give
details on what info to send in if you want to join in on that particular
challenge.
After you share your goal with us....you are in on that challenge and you have
to stick with it. You can report in to the list daily or weekly, or a little of both,
which ever works for you. I think all members should have to report in at least
once a week though....or there is no push. (Smile) The hope is that having to
write in and say you didn't reach your goal on any day that week, or didn't
even write that week, will add that push. Just like being about to write in and
say you did double your goal pages, will add a push.
Even if you aren’t taken one of the challenges, please give those who are a few
moments of your time and send in a reply when they report in. A “great job”
or a “keep trying” from someone else can really help. That’s why we are all
here, to support, encourage, and help each other get more writing done.
The Rules:
1) No flames! None! Never! Members should feel free to post info or ask for
info, without fear of flames. People who like to fight need to find another list....
since it WILL NOT be allowed here.
2) Trimming. Highlight and delete! It's easy. Trim any post you reply to on
list. What should be in your reply is your text and little else. The little else is a
few short lines from the body of the message your reply is to, and the single
from line that let's us see the name and or e-mail address of the person that
message was from. If there are a number of questions or points in the post
that you want to reply to, trim down to one point or question, add your reply
below it or above it, then trim down to the next, add your reply, and so on,
cutting out any unneeded parts. Don't forget we've already seen the post,
we've got the subject line, we'll have your text, and that should be all we need
to know. We don't need the whole header in the text that gives the group
address, the subject line, the time and date sent, ect... We don't need the
other person's sig file or any thing more than those few short lines that will
refresh our memories. (Smile)
Why does trimming matter? Tight trimming keeps members from having to
skim through a whole lot of repeated text and unneeded stuff, just to find
your reply text. Untrimmed messages become a nightmare for those set to
digest, or those who have little spare time, a slow computer, or hand problems
like corporal tunnel. And besides, it's simply polite when you are replying in a
group setting where others will likely also reply. Can you take a guess at what
a reply that is untrimmed or half trimmed will look like by the time three or
more people have replied in the same way? A real mess. By the way, if you are
on digest, and use reply, then it is very, very important that you remember to
always highlight and delete or start with a blank message and just copy and
paste what you want to reply to in it!
If you are one of those who forgets to trim, or doesn't like to trim, or can't
figure out how to trim, please set up your e-mail program so the text of the
message you are replying to is not included in your reply, or please open a
blank message for your replies. Untrimmed messages won't be posted to the
group. So trimming saves the moderators from having to send you a reminder
and you from having to resend your message. It's a win/win.
3) Subject lines. If you reply to a post, but change the topic, please change the
subject line. If you are on digest, you always have to change the subject line if
you hit reply. If you send a new message in, don't leave the subject line blank.
This way members can skim through quickly and delete those messages they
aren't interesting in.
4) Copyright Law -- No Copy & Paste! But for links. Do not copy anything from
a newsletter, website, or another e-mail list and post it to the list without
asking the author first.
5) No Spam! Not Any! Please don't place ADS or SPAM on the list – even those
dealing with writing.
6) Posts: Try to keep all messages on topic that are sent through the list. All
messages should deal with writing goals being made, kept, not met, congrats,
little pushes and pats on the shoulders, or responses about such.
7) Off topic posts: When someone sends an off topic post, PLEASE make sure
you reply to that post "off list". This means no chit chat about day to day life
and such! We do have a Social list for chit chat where you can talk away. To
join, send a blank message to RWCsocial-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
8) Signature (sig) lines. Please make sure you sign each message with your
name (first or nickname is fine) and your e-mail address. There are some e-
mail programs that don't show the senders address. Sig lines should be a
reasonable length, that means no more than four lines. Blank lines or
anything that takes up a line, counts, even if it’s just that the line is so long it
becomes two, then it is two. Please feel free place things in your sig line like
the address to your website, or the title of your book, and so on....but no ads
selling things.
To start sending messages to the Challenge group simply send email to
RWCchallenge@yahoogroups.com
If you do not wish to belong to the group, we would hate to see you go, but if
you must... you may unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to
RWCchallenge-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
I give the below info in case you ever need to resub...or have a friend who
would like to sub..... To subscribe to this group, send an email to
RWCchallenge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You may also visit the Yahoo! Groups website to modify your subscriptions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWCchallenge
Regards,
Charlotte Dillon
RWCchallenge-owner@yahoogroups.com
Moderator, RWClist
take a moment to review this message before you begin posting to the list. It's
a long, but the rules are numbered and just scanning down and reading the
first line of each rule will probably be enough, unless you are new to e-mail
list or new to one of the rules for this list. If you have any questions or
problems let me know.
To learn more about the other RWC groups, or to look over the below rules
and other info about the group any time, simply check out this site
http://www.charlottedillon.com/RWC.html
Charlotte Dillon ~*~ RWCchallenge-owner@yahoogroups.com
Resources for Romance Writers
www.CharlotteDillon.com
About Us:
On the RWC Challenge group I send out writing challenges and you take
which of them you wish. The challenge might be for a go-for-broke weekend
where you write as many new pages on your manuscript as you can, or it
might be a two week challenge where you get to set your own goals of writing
or rewriting and how many pages you hope to finish each week and or day, or
it might be a long one, like a two month challenge. You take part in any
challenge you want to and skip the ones you don’t wish to take. To take part
in one of the challenges, you usually only have to write in to the group and
share what your goals will be for that challenge. Don’t worry, I announce each
challenge before it begins, explain what kind and how long it will be, and give
details on what info to send in if you want to join in on that particular
challenge.
After you share your goal with us....you are in on that challenge and you have
to stick with it. You can report in to the list daily or weekly, or a little of both,
which ever works for you. I think all members should have to report in at least
once a week though....or there is no push. (Smile) The hope is that having to
write in and say you didn't reach your goal on any day that week, or didn't
even write that week, will add that push. Just like being about to write in and
say you did double your goal pages, will add a push.
Even if you aren’t taken one of the challenges, please give those who are a few
moments of your time and send in a reply when they report in. A “great job”
or a “keep trying” from someone else can really help. That’s why we are all
here, to support, encourage, and help each other get more writing done.
The Rules:
1) No flames! None! Never! Members should feel free to post info or ask for
info, without fear of flames. People who like to fight need to find another list....
since it WILL NOT be allowed here.
2) Trimming. Highlight and delete! It's easy. Trim any post you reply to on
list. What should be in your reply is your text and little else. The little else is a
few short lines from the body of the message your reply is to, and the single
from line that let's us see the name and or e-mail address of the person that
message was from. If there are a number of questions or points in the post
that you want to reply to, trim down to one point or question, add your reply
below it or above it, then trim down to the next, add your reply, and so on,
cutting out any unneeded parts. Don't forget we've already seen the post,
we've got the subject line, we'll have your text, and that should be all we need
to know. We don't need the whole header in the text that gives the group
address, the subject line, the time and date sent, ect... We don't need the
other person's sig file or any thing more than those few short lines that will
refresh our memories. (Smile)
Why does trimming matter? Tight trimming keeps members from having to
skim through a whole lot of repeated text and unneeded stuff, just to find
your reply text. Untrimmed messages become a nightmare for those set to
digest, or those who have little spare time, a slow computer, or hand problems
like corporal tunnel. And besides, it's simply polite when you are replying in a
group setting where others will likely also reply. Can you take a guess at what
a reply that is untrimmed or half trimmed will look like by the time three or
more people have replied in the same way? A real mess. By the way, if you are
on digest, and use reply, then it is very, very important that you remember to
always highlight and delete or start with a blank message and just copy and
paste what you want to reply to in it!
If you are one of those who forgets to trim, or doesn't like to trim, or can't
figure out how to trim, please set up your e-mail program so the text of the
message you are replying to is not included in your reply, or please open a
blank message for your replies. Untrimmed messages won't be posted to the
group. So trimming saves the moderators from having to send you a reminder
and you from having to resend your message. It's a win/win.
3) Subject lines. If you reply to a post, but change the topic, please change the
subject line. If you are on digest, you always have to change the subject line if
you hit reply. If you send a new message in, don't leave the subject line blank.
This way members can skim through quickly and delete those messages they
aren't interesting in.
4) Copyright Law -- No Copy & Paste! But for links. Do not copy anything from
a newsletter, website, or another e-mail list and post it to the list without
asking the author first.
5) No Spam! Not Any! Please don't place ADS or SPAM on the list – even those
dealing with writing.
6) Posts: Try to keep all messages on topic that are sent through the list. All
messages should deal with writing goals being made, kept, not met, congrats,
little pushes and pats on the shoulders, or responses about such.
7) Off topic posts: When someone sends an off topic post, PLEASE make sure
you reply to that post "off list". This means no chit chat about day to day life
and such! We do have a Social list for chit chat where you can talk away. To
join, send a blank message to RWCsocial-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
8) Signature (sig) lines. Please make sure you sign each message with your
name (first or nickname is fine) and your e-mail address. There are some e-
mail programs that don't show the senders address. Sig lines should be a
reasonable length, that means no more than four lines. Blank lines or
anything that takes up a line, counts, even if it’s just that the line is so long it
becomes two, then it is two. Please feel free place things in your sig line like
the address to your website, or the title of your book, and so on....but no ads
selling things.
To start sending messages to the Challenge group simply send email to
RWCchallenge@yahoogroups.com
If you do not wish to belong to the group, we would hate to see you go, but if
you must... you may unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to
RWCchallenge-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
I give the below info in case you ever need to resub...or have a friend who
would like to sub..... To subscribe to this group, send an email to
RWCchallenge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You may also visit the Yahoo! Groups website to modify your subscriptions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWCchallenge
Regards,
Charlotte Dillon
RWCchallenge-owner@yahoogroups.com
Moderator, RWClist
FAQ About the Challenge Group
1) Do I really need to report in when I'm taking part in one of the
challenges?
Yes! Letting us know how things are going, or not going, is the difference
between taking a challenge as part of a group, or just trying to go it alone.
Group challenges almost always push us to do more, especially when we
know we have to confess when we've really missed the mark. In other words,
the only way to get the support of this group is to take part fully. Report in
and reply to others when they report in.
2) Do I have to take every challenge that is set for the group?
Nope. You pick which ones you want to take, skip the rest. Do please try to
reply in and support those who are taking the challenge though, even if it's
one you have skipped. This group is only as good as the support its members
offer to each other.
3) I have a new e-mail address. How do I change it with my groups so I can
get messages at the new address, or even at more than one address?
You can do it the hard way, and unsub from each group with the old address
and resub to each group with the new address, or you can do it the easy way.
(I always say go for the easy way if there is one.) The easy way: Go to any
Yahoo Group home page, sign in, then click on My Groups. The link for it can
be found near the top of the page. Next you click on My Email Preferences,
then Add Email Address. You can follow the directions on the screen to add
your new address, a second or third address, or even remove an address. To
pick which address you want each group's messages to go to, you can click
on My Groups, then on Edit My Groups, and then use the pull down menus
there to pick which address or addresses you want to use, and even to pick
how you want those messages delivered. When done, don't forget to click on
Save Changes. By the way, the address for a Yahoo Group's home page can
be found at the bottom of any message that comes through to that group.
4) I sent a message to the group almost an hour ago, but it hasn’t shown up yet. Should I
resend?
Not yet. Almost always, any message sent goes through. Sometimes they don’t show up
in your own in box, but reach the group page and everyone else. So the first thing to do is
to check the group page and see if your message is there. If not, wait at least a few more
hours. Sometimes Yahoo has glitches that can slow down messages by hours. If you wait
and notice that other messages seem to be coming in to the group fine, then it’s time to
resend. This shouldn’t be a problem that you have to deal with often. More often than not
messages pop through to the group within a reasonable time with no trouble.
5) Can I use e-mail commands to change my membership settings?
Yes, sure can. Simply take the sub address for the group… RWCchallenge-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com and change the command word in the middle of it to fit the
command you want. So if you want to stop getting messages for a while, you would send
a blank message to RWCchallenge-nomail@yahoogroups.com. If you want to switch to
daily digest you would send a blank message to RWCchallenge-digest@yahoogroups.
com. If you want individual messages you would send a blank message to RWCchallenge-
normal@yahoogroups.com.
6) What is digest?
With daily digest instead of getting each message individually as it is sent to the group,
you will get about 25 of them in one message file, usually only once a day. It makes it
really easy to scan through subject lines and pick which messages you want to read or
skip for those who have very little time for an active group like RWC, but still want to take
part.
7) I tried to send a file through to the group, but it didn't work. Why?
All RWC groups are set up so that no HTML or attachments can be sent through them to
members. This is a safety net to protect members from computer viruses.
8) I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks and need to stop getting messages.
Can I do this without leaving the group?
Yes, you can by going "no mail". You can change your mail setting from the group's home
page here, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWCchallenge, or with a simple e-mail
command. See question number 5 for info on how to use e-mail commands.
9) The rules say no flames. I’m new to on line groups, so what is a flame?
A flame is an attack on a person or their opinions. A flame is a message sent with heat to
it, anger, or sharp words. It’s a message sent without thought or caring for the person you
are replying to or for others in the group who will have to see it. Tension isn’t a good thing
for any group. RWC is a warm, friendly place for writers, so flames are never welcome.
10) Why does it matter if I forget to trim sometimes, or if I trim only half way?
A few reasons. One, tight trimming is the rule ALL of the time. Two, as many members as
RWC has, if even half of them start forgetting to trim sometimes, it would be a mess.
Three, those untrimmed or half-trimmed messages make the digest a real pain to get
through, and we have lots of members set to digest. Four, there are new members often,
so think of those new members who have their messages bounced back to them for not
trimming, and then right after their message is rejected, two messages come in that aren't
trimmed or that are only half-trimmed. That has to make those new members feel like they
are being singled out or picked on--and it doesn't make me feel very good either.
11) Why am I still on moderation and how does moderation work?
All new members are set to moderated when they join any RWC group. This means that
when that member sends a message to the group, that message comes to me first, off
list, so I can see it before it hits the main group. Being moderated isn’t a problem for
members. Moderated messages are checked off and on all day every day and put right
through. This is the way I block spammers, as well as make sure that new members took
the time to read and understand the rules. Members are left set to moderated until they
have posted enough for me to be sure they understand and are willing to follow group
rules. Once I’m sure of that, they are removed from moderated and their messages go
right to the group. Unless they fail to follow the rules, or send in flames or spam, they stay
set to unmoderated. My goal at all times is to have as very few members set to
moderated as I can. Moderating members is a lot work and takes a lot of extra time that I
just don’t have, so we both want the same thing.
challenges?
Yes! Letting us know how things are going, or not going, is the difference
between taking a challenge as part of a group, or just trying to go it alone.
Group challenges almost always push us to do more, especially when we
know we have to confess when we've really missed the mark. In other words,
the only way to get the support of this group is to take part fully. Report in
and reply to others when they report in.
2) Do I have to take every challenge that is set for the group?
Nope. You pick which ones you want to take, skip the rest. Do please try to
reply in and support those who are taking the challenge though, even if it's
one you have skipped. This group is only as good as the support its members
offer to each other.
3) I have a new e-mail address. How do I change it with my groups so I can
get messages at the new address, or even at more than one address?
You can do it the hard way, and unsub from each group with the old address
and resub to each group with the new address, or you can do it the easy way.
(I always say go for the easy way if there is one.) The easy way: Go to any
Yahoo Group home page, sign in, then click on My Groups. The link for it can
be found near the top of the page. Next you click on My Email Preferences,
then Add Email Address. You can follow the directions on the screen to add
your new address, a second or third address, or even remove an address. To
pick which address you want each group's messages to go to, you can click
on My Groups, then on Edit My Groups, and then use the pull down menus
there to pick which address or addresses you want to use, and even to pick
how you want those messages delivered. When done, don't forget to click on
Save Changes. By the way, the address for a Yahoo Group's home page can
be found at the bottom of any message that comes through to that group.
4) I sent a message to the group almost an hour ago, but it hasn’t shown up yet. Should I
resend?
Not yet. Almost always, any message sent goes through. Sometimes they don’t show up
in your own in box, but reach the group page and everyone else. So the first thing to do is
to check the group page and see if your message is there. If not, wait at least a few more
hours. Sometimes Yahoo has glitches that can slow down messages by hours. If you wait
and notice that other messages seem to be coming in to the group fine, then it’s time to
resend. This shouldn’t be a problem that you have to deal with often. More often than not
messages pop through to the group within a reasonable time with no trouble.
5) Can I use e-mail commands to change my membership settings?
Yes, sure can. Simply take the sub address for the group… RWCchallenge-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com and change the command word in the middle of it to fit the
command you want. So if you want to stop getting messages for a while, you would send
a blank message to RWCchallenge-nomail@yahoogroups.com. If you want to switch to
daily digest you would send a blank message to RWCchallenge-digest@yahoogroups.
com. If you want individual messages you would send a blank message to RWCchallenge-
normal@yahoogroups.com.
6) What is digest?
With daily digest instead of getting each message individually as it is sent to the group,
you will get about 25 of them in one message file, usually only once a day. It makes it
really easy to scan through subject lines and pick which messages you want to read or
skip for those who have very little time for an active group like RWC, but still want to take
part.
7) I tried to send a file through to the group, but it didn't work. Why?
All RWC groups are set up so that no HTML or attachments can be sent through them to
members. This is a safety net to protect members from computer viruses.
8) I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks and need to stop getting messages.
Can I do this without leaving the group?
Yes, you can by going "no mail". You can change your mail setting from the group's home
page here, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWCchallenge, or with a simple e-mail
command. See question number 5 for info on how to use e-mail commands.
9) The rules say no flames. I’m new to on line groups, so what is a flame?
A flame is an attack on a person or their opinions. A flame is a message sent with heat to
it, anger, or sharp words. It’s a message sent without thought or caring for the person you
are replying to or for others in the group who will have to see it. Tension isn’t a good thing
for any group. RWC is a warm, friendly place for writers, so flames are never welcome.
10) Why does it matter if I forget to trim sometimes, or if I trim only half way?
A few reasons. One, tight trimming is the rule ALL of the time. Two, as many members as
RWC has, if even half of them start forgetting to trim sometimes, it would be a mess.
Three, those untrimmed or half-trimmed messages make the digest a real pain to get
through, and we have lots of members set to digest. Four, there are new members often,
so think of those new members who have their messages bounced back to them for not
trimming, and then right after their message is rejected, two messages come in that aren't
trimmed or that are only half-trimmed. That has to make those new members feel like they
are being singled out or picked on--and it doesn't make me feel very good either.
11) Why am I still on moderation and how does moderation work?
All new members are set to moderated when they join any RWC group. This means that
when that member sends a message to the group, that message comes to me first, off
list, so I can see it before it hits the main group. Being moderated isn’t a problem for
members. Moderated messages are checked off and on all day every day and put right
through. This is the way I block spammers, as well as make sure that new members took
the time to read and understand the rules. Members are left set to moderated until they
have posted enough for me to be sure they understand and are willing to follow group
rules. Once I’m sure of that, they are removed from moderated and their messages go
right to the group. Unless they fail to follow the rules, or send in flames or spam, they stay
set to unmoderated. My goal at all times is to have as very few members set to
moderated as I can. Moderating members is a lot work and takes a lot of extra time that I
just don’t have, so we both want the same thing.
 |  |  |
