WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE MAGDALEN LIST?

It is a place for conversation, fellowship, and friendship. One might think of it as an English pub, where folk come to find food to sustain their bodies, drink to cheer their spirits, and friends to share their lives.

In this vein, some of us refer to it as "Magdalen's Rose and Compass", or simply "Maddie's." Or, if one doesn't frequent pubs, one might imagine that Magdalen Herbert, mother of the Anglican poet George Herbert and the person for whom the list is named, has invited us all into her parlour. John Donne describes "her high intelligence and 'sharpness of wit', as well as her devotion to the Scriptures and to the services of the Church: 'the wit of our time is profaneness; _nevertheless_, she that loved that hated this': 'her house was a cort in the conversation of the best'." The List's name also alludes to Mary Magdalen, one of the most devoted followers of Jesus . The discourse in this place is intended to be consistent with following Jesus. Most of those gathered here are Anglicans, but that is not a requirement for belonging to the List.

WHAT ARE THE NORMS OF THE MAGDALEN LIST?

All List members are expected to conduct themselves here as follows:

• Respect the dignity of every human person.
• Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.

Everything else is flexible.

WHAT ARE THE HOUSE RULES?

1. Conduct oneself online in accord with the norms, stated above.

2. No post may exceed 15,000 characters in length.

HOW DO I JOIN THE MAGDALEN LIST?

Go to this web page:

http://herberthouse.org/mailman/listinfo/magdalen

Scroll down to the "Subscribing to Magdalen" section. Tell it what it needs to know, and click "Subscribe". If you do not provide a password, it will assign you one. You only need the password to make changes to your subscription, and you can ask the software at any time to remind you of your password.

This is a closed mailing list - only people who are currently subscribed can post to the list. It is closed because this decreases the amount of spam, and makes it possible to assure that discussions on the list, while lively, maintain a level of civility and Christian charity that is accord with the purpose of MAGDALEN.

NOW I'M SUBSCRIBED. WHAT NEXT?

We suggest you just listen for a while, to get a sense of who's here, and what we're talking about. Feel free to join in as soon as you're comfortable in doing so.

We invite you to post a short introduction, before or shortly after your first post, so that those of us already online together can know you better. Use the header INTRO when you do so.

Please sign each of your posts, so a responding listmember can address you by name.

HOW DO I UNSUBSCRIBE? ADJUST MY SUBSCRIPTION?

Visit this URL,

http://herberthouse.org/mailman/options/magdalen

provide your password, and tell it you want to unsubscribe. Or tell it that you want to change your options. Your options can be set to "digest mode" or "per-message mode" or to suspend receipt of mail without actually unsubscribing.

Sending a message to the list asking to unsubscribe will only achieve anything after many list members have become irritated at you because you didn't read this FAQ. The Publican does not read the list closely 24 hours a day, and it may take some time for that person to respond. Please follow the instructions given above.

HOW DO I POST A MESSAGE?

When you send your message to

magdalen@herberthouse.org

it will go to everyone on the list. If you reply to a message sent to the list, your reply will automatically go to the entire list and not just to the person who sent that message.

Do not use the "Reply to All" function, because your reply already goes to everyone. If you do this, they might get two copies.

If you want to reply just to the original author, it is best to use the copy and paste features of your computer and paste that person's email address into a new message.

HOW DO I FORMAT A POST SO IT READS EASILY?

Set your computer so that it uses line lengths of no more than 72 characters: this makes for comfortable reading for all of us.

Use both upper and lower case letters in your messages.

Use no more than 10,000 characters in a single post.

Rather than forwarding items printed elsewhere on the web to the list, send a link which will allow us to read it elsewhere.

Check and edit the subject line before you hit the reply button. Leave it as is if your reply is on the same topic. If you are changing the subject, or focusing on one aspect of the subject, modify the heading accordingly. If you receive your messages via digest, and hit the reply button, the subject generated will be the Digest name/number. Remove this from the subject line and insert the subject that was on the post to which you are replying. Also be sure you delete the contents of the digest rather than including the whole thing in your replay!

Conclude each post with your name and email address.

HOW DO I REPLY PRIVATELY TO SOMEONE ON THE LIST?

It is best to avoid use of your "Reply" command, because that automatically puts the listaddress in the reply line. If you do, you must then delete that address and replace it with the address of the person who wrote the post. Put the word PRIVATE or OFFLIST after the subject heading to alert the receiver to the fact that this is an offlist post.

Be careful. It can be very embarrassing to send to the entire list a message that you intended for one person.

SOMEONE HAS POSTED SOMETHING I DISAGREE WITH. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

First, read every other post in your mailbox. There may have been many other responses in which someone has already said what you wanted to say. If after all this, you still feel you must reply: fine, go ahead. Disagree in a calm, civil tone. Be gentle, be understanding, be kind. Avoid language that is insulting. If you must exhibit hostility, do so to the subject rather than to the sender.

JUST HOW PRIVATE IS THIS LIST?
CAN I BE SURE MY POSTS WON'T BE RESENT TO OTHERS?

We expect that every subscriber to this list will honor the principles of copyright laws by asking for permission from the contributor before using any part or all of a post made here. It is not sufficient to append the person's name when forwarding a message elsewhere. You must have that person's explicit permission to forward.

Any material you forward to this list must likewise be properly attributed, and you must have explicit permission to share it with us.

Always be mindful that this list is a public forum. No one asked you to produce an ID card when you joined the list, and you don't really have any way of knowing who is listening.

WHO IS IN CHARGE?

The List is overseen by three Publicans. If the Publicans feel a post violates the norms of the List, the matter will be addressed in whatever way they deem fit. The Publicans decide who is welcome here and who is not. There is no due process. This is a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy.

The Publicans' job is to keep Magdalen a safe, valuable, and loving place, and if they believe that the best way to do that is to remove you from Magdalen, well, so be it. You can reach the management at magdalen-owner@herberthouse.org.

As you enter into the fellowship of this list,
we invite you to join us also in this prayer:

Blessed Lord:
You walked the hills of Galilee with your friends. At evening you shared your stories and listened, broke bread and drank of the fruit of the vine. Be with us as we share together as brothers and sisters and in our enjoyment grant us your presence always. Amen.

And now, let the fellowship begin!

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