Hello,

Here are a few suggestions that will hopefully help members of this list enjoy their stay here and avoid the flame wars that keep flaring up and take up precious bandwidth. Just like a doze machine that has its resources eaten up by viruses, spam, spyware and bloatware, we could all contribute towards reducing flame wars and promote better relations among members. Here are some guide lines we could all follow.

1. We are all guests on this list, which means we have to abide by the host's (list's) rules and regulations. It includes abiding by the rules of moderation which is necessary for any public list. Without moderation there is chaos.

2. We have not created this list but have joined it for the purpose of being in touch with other GNU/Linux users of Mumbai. Our rights and privileges on this list are limited and not absolute.

3. If we had created this list then members would have the freedom to leave it whenever they found our messages insulting or personally attacking. However since this list is created by others and we are only guests here, it can be a very difficult and embarrassing situation for one guest to find that he/she is being attacked by another guest.

4. This is a public list with the scope of discussions limited to Open Source / Free Software, Software Freedom and occasionally technology related matters off topic, there is absolutely NO scope for discussions on social or political issues unless they are directly related to incidents of use or restriction of use of Free Software in rare cases.

5. Personal matters and feelings have no place on this list and this list is not to be taken personally in any way. This also means that we cannot allow our personal feelings, however strong and passionate about certain issues, to influence our communication as well as responses to others' messages.

6. There is freedom to disagree with others' points of view but this is in no way a consent to verbally attack the person. It should be noted by all members that harsh criticisms as well as ridicules of a member or his/her messages are equally insulting to that member, just like personal attacks and all members should refrain from doing it, however strongly or passionately they feel about certain issues. This also includes observing restraint by older members.

7. If a member has made a mistake or accidentally broken list rules then he/she should be made aware of the error in a polite way even if it involves putting the member under moderation or removal from this list. No member is justified to use harsh or insulting words towards the erring member.

8. When replying to members of the opposite sex, members must be careful not to use any words, phrases or sentences that comment in any way on the gender of the opposite member. This reduces the scope of any misunderstanding and reduces the chances of any member complaining of gender bias against another member.

9. Although this list has no place for personal feelings, all members must look upon fellow members as virtual or internet friends and just as in real life, they must be accommodating towards other members in case they err or make mistakes. Don't we expect the same treatment from other members towards us.

10. We are not just members of the list but also its salespersons. We have to present our GLUG in the best possible way to others so that more members can join in and make this community larger and happier. Naturally this starts with being proud of our GLUG and doing whatever is possible to spread knowledge and happiness to others and promote peaceful and cordial relations amongst all members. Peace and happiness to everyone. Ubuntu!