1. How does it all work?
The BEC e-mail lists are simply an automatic circulation list. People with something of interest to BEC
members, particularly details of activities or social events, can post a message which is automatically
forwarded to everyone else on the list.
Please note that any replies direct to the list are similarly forwarded to everyone. The `From:' address
is the senders address. So clicking on `Reply' will send your message back to them.
Who can join the e-mail list?
The list is for members only. New members will be automatically subscribed by the Membership
Secretary or the Webmaster. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address noted on the
membership form. See Item 6 below for more info.
Any other rules?
Many people get the e-mails at work, often as part of tens or hundreds per day, and simply don't want
their inboxes cluttered up with irrelevant stuff. Indeed it might even land them in trouble with their
employers. So please, if your reply is for the poster's attention only, reply direct to them and not the
whole list.
Please, if someone does post something irrelevant don't start a whole discussion about it. Someone on
the Committee will have a private word with the original poster reminding them nicely why we try to
keep the e-mail volume down. It is our experience that those who mis-post often do so because of an
innocent misunderstanding. Those who then turn one off topic post into a whole stream of "funny"
responses usually ought to know better! The e-mail list is not a chat room.
What if it all goes wrong?
If a Committee member thinks a post is off topic or otherwise not OK we will contact the poster direct,
in private (we won't post any such concerns publicly). Feel free to e-mail a committee member if you
are unhappy with a posting and want to bring it to their attention. An allegedly offending poster will then
obviously have a chance to respond by replying, equally privately. Hopefully no-one will post anything
so offensive as to warrant an instant ban but we do reserve the right to do this in extreme cases.
After that.... well, this is a democracy but there isn't free speech! Let me explain. If you think you've
been unfairly banned or criticised, you can appeal to the BEC Committee and make your
representations in person or in writing. The Committee will then discuss the merits of the case and
decide how best to proceed. You may not, however, then post a public message or series of
messages discussing the rights and wrongs of any criticism that the moderators or other individual
committee members may have made - that will get you banned for sure!
In the end the Committee's decision is final. If you don't like it, stand for election at the next AGM and if
you get elected and get a majority on the committee to agree you can change the rules. See, it is a
democracy!
We hope you find the e-mail service useful - don't forget to visit the Forum for the chat and other
interesting stuff.
6. Unsubscribing
Every e-mail sent via the Mailing Lists have a footer explaining how to unsubscribe. If you have a
problem unsubscribing, e-mail webmaster@brightonexplorers.org or one of the other committee
members.