IEEE 802.1 Email Lists
Sending to 802.1 lists

Sending restrictions

Before posting email to a list, you should understand our restrictions on format, content, and message size. Here is a quick summary; some entries link to expanded explanations below.

Format
The subject line cannot be blank.
Plain text is preferred. All HTML is stripped before distribution.
Please avoid using “return receipt requested.”

Content
No spam, please.
Do not send “tests” of list operation, unless requested by the administrator.
Do not send mail with claims that the contents are proprietary, confidential, or otherwise restricted.

Message size
Messages over the size limit are rejected.
Please avoid ZIP attachments.

Other concerns
Replies go to the original sender, not the list. If you use Reply All to circumvent this, edit the resulting list of addresses!
Microsoft® Outlook® users: Do not use “Resend this message.”

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List addresses

If you send from an address not subscribed to the list, the server may reply with a request for confirmation.

Email link: 802.1 main list.

When sending to the ballot-response list, use the form, subject line, and address provided in the ballot announcement.

To send an item to the maintenance-request list, use the form and mail link provided in the Maintenance section of the 802.1 Website.

Email link: 802 Architecture list. (Please use only when an Architecture project is active.)

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After sending

Subscribers usually receive a copy of their contributions. (Some email services, notably Gmail, may block them.) Non-subscribers should receive a report when the message is distributed. Those new to 802.1 may have their contributions delayed for moderator approval.

DON’T PANIC! If you have posted a message and not yet received your copy, resist the impulse to send it again immediately. This is not an instant-messaging system.

Maybe you didn’t send it. Check your sent mail, if possible.

Maybe you didn’t confirm. If your sending address doesn’t match a subscription, you must answer a server request. Look for one in received mail, then in filtered mail.

Maybe the server delayed or rejected it. Check for server notices in both normal received mail and filtered mail. If you find one, it should say whether you need to correct an error and resend. If your post is queued for approval, retransmitting it won’t help.

If your posts consistently require confirmation or approval, you may need to change your subscribed address or to add a send-only subscription, so your “From:” header address is recognized.

Maybe your copy is delayed, bounced, filtered, or misplaced. This is not uncommon, so always check the list archive. Anything archived has been distributed to the list, whether or not you received a copy.

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Detailed explanations of some restrictions

No HTML: Some email clients use HTML in such a way that it expands message size beyond our capacity.
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Spam is not welcome! This includes job postings, course offerings, announcements of trade shows, and other commercial activities, even those having something to do with LANs or MANs.
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Claims: Each list is an open forum; contributions are shared by all. On principle, participants may choose to disregard messages containing such claims or restrictions. They may be removed from email archives, and not counted as valid submissions. Consideration or discussion of the contents may be refused.

Whether or not that happens, any message sent to a list is effectively published worldwide, irretrievably. The contents may subsequently circulate anywhere in the universe, with no one but the original sender to blame. That’s not a policy, just a fact. If you want to control information, don’t broadcast it to an open forum.

Participants whose organizations automatically append such claims to outbound email must suppress them. If suppression is blocked by adminstrative edict or technology, they must contribute from a different account. Filters are added to lists to detect and block known claims boilerplate.

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Message size limits defend against a major shared risk: The more space occupied by list messages, the more likely some subscribers will exceed storage limits, disrupting further communication (and slamming the list administrator with error reports).

Non-plaintext attachments, encoded for email transmission, are more than a third larger than the source files.

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ZIP files are a tempting way to evade size limits, but they cannot be scanned and are a popular way to distribute malware. They’re our most serious security risk, and the only defense is to ensure nobody trusts any ZIP file sent via the list. If a file exceeds size limits, it should be posted online for download—uncompressed—and the location announced to the list.
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Microsoft® Outlook® allows you to copy and modify a received email message, and then send it on (or back). This feature is reportedly called “Resend this message” (on the Tools menu). It looks tempting, especially for responding to 802.1 ballots.

Do not use this feature to send to the list! It preserves header information from the original message, distorting list communications two ways:

(1) The sender of the original (copied) message appears in the “Reply-To:” field.

(2) The header retains tracking information from the original message. If the original also passed through the list, the new message appears to be looping and will probably be rejected at many destinations.

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