* The mailing list welcomes any intelligent discussion about the Christy television show and novels, or related information. It is asked that basic rules of "netiquette" are followed pertaining to things like the prohibition of all caps, multiple postings of the same message, spam, velveta, and other inappropriate or illegal postings (like ponzi schemes). These are all obviously prohibited.

* Criticism is allowed, but *not flames*. The list would get boring if all it contained was mindless praise. The difference is that criticism requires an ounce of thought and can lead to a discussion, while flaming lacks any mental effort. Criticism is: "I didn't like that episode of Christy because..." Flaming is: "You're all dorks for watching Christy."

* What do I do about this [spammer/flamer/etc]?

* The first and most important rule to any of the above is to *not reply to the spammer or flamer*. For the most part, all these people are trying to do is disrupt the listserv by starting a fight and drawing in as many people as possible for the longest time. Do not reward them by doing so. Obviously, never send any money to someone posting a ponzi scheme or similar con.

* Sometimes, the infraction is a little more serious. In the case of spams or ponzi schemes ["MAKE MONEY FAST"], you should take the header of the post and mail it to abuse@iinet.net.au.

* Tell iiNet what happened in your mail. Be polite. They'll then block any spam from the same address from being sent to the Christy list.

* Just plain flamers are a different story. The best and only thing you can usually do is to ignore them and not reply. If a particular person upsets you tremendously, you can put them in a "kill file," a file that filters out and deletes posts by a certain user before you see them. Ask your internet provider about how to set one up for your particular mail reader. There are no real problems on the mailing list thus far with flamers. But if someone does pop up and creates a problem, putting them in your kill file will solve the problem.

* However, a flamer can go too far. If a flamer begins to harass you, either on the mailing list or through e-mail, take the offending posts or e-mails and send them to the user's postmaster, using the same method described above.