The Guild of Metalsmiths

Instructions for signing onto maillist discussion groups

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What is a maillist discussion group?

Maillist groups are kind of like small local newspapers. You subscribe and you get a copy of the news and gossip collected from the rest of the town. In this case the town consists of those people who have decided to subscribe because they are interested in the topics listed in the description of the group. They can be anywhere in the world.

Each person subscribing has the option of publishing their comments or articles to all the list members. These comments are sent out as email messages to the listserver (computer) that administers the list. The listserver maintains a master list of subscribers and each time someone posts something new to the list, it copies the message and sends out a copy to every one of the subscribers. When you reply to a list it goes out to all the subscribers.

When you subscribe to a list, you will get a confirmation message back. This usually has very important information on how to control the options on the list. Such as how to get off the list. Save it! ! !
Print a copy out and put it in your computer manual.
Options usually include a format called "Digest" which consolidates all of a days posts into one long message. Some people find this an easier way to deal with the mail volume. Others prefer to use a mail program like Eudora Pro or Pegasus (which is a shareware program) which can filter the mail and send it to seperate mailboxes so you can tell which mail came directly to you and which mail came through the list. Instructions for setting up digest mode are included in the welcome message from theForge and Artmetal, Orchid has a special address, see below, and I don't yet know about the knife list.

theForge is hosted on a commercial server called qth.net.

ArtMetal maillist is administered through the server at Washington University in MO.
Orchid Mailing list (jewelry) is administered by Ganoksin Jewelry Co.,Ltd., Hauy-Kwang, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
The Knife-list, (I am yet uncertain of sponsorship)
There are a lot of other lists out there, If you have a favorite that you feel is worth listing here let me know. Hearsay lists (unreviewed) and new ones will be listed at the bottom of the page until we get feedback on them.

Netiquette!

Please, - These discussion groups are each an ongoing and sometimes overlapping community of people interested in smithing, metal and art. There is a mother lode of wisdom amongst those subscribing, and the medium of exchange is courtesy.

When posting to a maillist.

• Try to give a good subject heading. This allows those interested to find relevant posts.
• If you find the focus changing in your post, adjust the subject accordingly.
• When you reply to someones post, most email programs will quote the entire previous post automatically. PLEASE - edit out all portions of the previous post that are not neccesary to communicate your response. The cleaner we keep these communications the easier it is for everyone to read.
• If your response only affects one person on the list, Look in the header of their message where it says,
  From: theirhandle@server.xxx copy that address to the
  To: _________ section of your response and reply to them directly instead of sending it to the whole list. (450 people really don't need to know you are interested in looking at a power hammer someone posted)
  The flip side of this is, if you are offering information that requires a direct response to you; insert mailto:your@address into your message, it helps those who don't know how to find, cut and paste addresses.
• This is a community of people who sometimes share life experince, humor, and other comments sometimes not directly related to metalwork or art. If you choose to share in this exchange, PLEASE add the word "YAK" to your subject line. It allows those with limited time to avoid off topic posts.
• On topic posts - ArtMetal:
  Anything relating to Smithing, - Shipwrights, wainwrights, coopers, farriers, equipment, welding, technique, meetings, materials, finishing, business, historical perspective and of course a dash of humor for spice, - Plus - Casting, jewelry, mixing media with metal, and Art in its various nuances and meanings.
• On topic posts - theForge:
  Anything relating to Smithing, - Shipwrights, wainwrights, coopers, farriers, equipment, welding, technique, meetings, materials, finishing, business, historical perspective and of course a dash of humor for spice.
• On topic posts - Orchid
  Orchid is dedicated to the exchange of substantive technical content, covering the full range of information requirements. Speaking from a wide range of technical and aesthetic experiences, this forum addresses questions about every aspect of jewelry making today.
• On topic posts - Knife-list
  This is hearsay on the part of this author but, I understand that Blacksmithing, forge welding, damascus, and all other technical aspects of bladesmithing are welcomed. "YAK" is frowned upon!
• The level of activity of these lists can vary from a couple to over a hundred posts a day, depending on topic, weather (a lot of smiths with unheated shops seem to find it more comfortable to work inside during cold snaps), and day of the week.

  Mail lists are usually available in digest format as well, The occasional surges in volume bring home the need for clear subject lines. Some days we each must edit our reading and pick and choose. Remember SUBJECT LINES and USE YAK on off topic posts.

• Thank you for your consideration and Welcome to these open forums

ArtMetal-- Part of the Artmetal Project
This is an email Roundtable that includes blacksmiths and other metal artisans from around the world.

Important information on Artmetal!(as of 1/6/05)

If some of you were subscribed to the Artmetal mail list, you probably noticed that the wugate server kept failing and was finally shut off.

After several weeks of experimenting with a couple email programs the list will now be hosted on Enrique's machine using Mailman as the email program.

The new list will have the ability to filter posts labeled OT: or YAK: in the subject line so that the metal and art content threads can come through without bad jokes and socializing.

If you are interested in subscribing go to http://www.artmetal.com/mailman/listinfo/sandbox

Unsubscribe instructions are included at the bottom of every post.

TheForge-- Abana's official maillist discussion group
This is the E-Mail Round Table for blacksmiths. It brings blacksmiths together to share ideas, hints, tips, and to ask other blacksmiths questions.

Theforge is supported by ABANA as a service to the blacksmithing community. It is part of ABANA's Charter that the organization educate not only members, but the general public as well. Members of theforge are not required to be members of ABANA. To join, send an E-Mail message to:

TO:     majordomo@qth.net
SUBJECT:
BODY: subscribe theforge

To be removed from the mailing list:

TO: majordomo@qth.net
SUBJECT:
BODY: unsubscribe theforge

To post information/questions to the list:

TO: theforge@qth.net

Please address any questions to: abana@mail.usmo.com

You will receive a return E-Mail message telling you how to post a question to the group or offer an idea. Everyone in the group will get all the messages, questions or comments and all may respond or offer a new topic.

Orchid - a service of Ganoksin Jewelry Co.,Ltd.
To subscribe:
Check out the Orchid page

or send an Email to:

 To:      orchid-request@ganoksin.com
 body:    subscribe
 subject: blank


To subscribe the digest format send an Email to:

 To:      orchid-digest-request@ganoksin.com
 body:    subscribe
 subject: blank

 or fill out the form on the Orchid page

Knife-list - edged tools discussion forum
The address for subscribing to the knife-list is:

majordomo@swcp.com
Put "subscribe knife-list" in the body. The subject won't matter.

If you are using AOL or Prodigy or ANY proprietary service that allows you to set up multiple login ID's, an easy solution to mailing list clutter is available.

Just set up a second account (it's free) and have all of "the Forge" mail sent to that address. That leaves your personal account free for personal mail and gives you one place for the large volume of "the Forge" mail to go. This is really the only way you can "filter" incoming mail on these services. Just make certain to check that other name frequently or the Mailbox will fill up and you will get "auto-signed-off" the list.

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