The information contained on this page is related to the Pumpmoms group.

How to handle the volume of email messages

Rules of the Pumpmoms group

Pumpmoms Rules on Advertising or Promoting in the group

How to post once you are a member of Pumpmoms

How to Trim your email posts

Email sent out regarding volume on the Pumpmoms list
Welcome! Often, new members unsubscribe quickly due to list volume or difficulty navigating the list threads, so here are a few pointers for some alternative ways to find your way through the sometimes-overwhelming volume of PumpMoms messages.

If you find that getting every email from PumpMoms as they come in is just too much, the first step is to try the Digest (25 messages compiled in one longer message). You can switch to Digest either via the website and your Yahoo! id, or by just sending an email to:  pumpmoms-digest@yahoogroups.com 

If Digest is still too much/hard to read, you may want to try using the website to read list messages. You can change your subscription to Nomail (again, either via the website, or by sending a message to pumpmoms-nomail@yahoogroups.com ) to not receive the messages at all, or just stay on Digest or Regular. You don't have to change your message delivery to read at the website, too. But reading on the website can be slow, if you just do it message by message. A better way is to use the "Expand Messages" mode. This link is at the top and bottom of the Messages listing. This lets you scroll up and down the messages, much like getting the Digest, but you don't have to wait for the Digest to be delivered to you.

If, however, your time is very limited and you are really only interested in the answer to your question, there is one more option. First, find the message you are interested in and click on it in the Messages window.  Then return to the Messages listing by using the "Message Index" link at  the top of the message text (*not* the one to the left of the message entitled "Messages"). This will put the message you are interested in at the top of the message list. Now, to the right side of the message list is a link called "Thread". Click on that and the message you are interested is at the top, and all the follow-up messages are right underneath it. Finally, if you now select "Expand Messages", you can read all of the follow-up messages sequentially.

We hope this helps you better manage the list volume. Please contact us off-list (at pumpmoms-owner@yahoogroups.com ) if you are having trouble understanding this explanation, or need help with your subscription, like changing it to Digest.

Email sent out regarding the rules of the Pumpmoms group
Here is a gentle reminder of some of the "rules" for our list. This reminder message will be posted to the Pumping Moms list periodically in an effort to keep us on track and make the list more productive for everyone.

Our mission: to create and maintain a positive, supportive and resourceful environment for moms who want to pump MM for their children.

The main obstacle to achieving our mission is that we are a VERY busy list.  One of the *primary* reasons people unsub is because of heavy volume. So in an effort to maintain the integrity of this list, we ask the following:

Quoting: Please trim all headers, footers and signature lines from replies and try not to quote already quoted material. Don't forget to change the subject text to reflect the actual topic of the post!  (Detailed instructions are available in the "trimming.txt" file.)

Off-topic Posts: Keep them to a minimum and include "OT:" in the subject line. They should be at least nominally related to the subject of the list (i.e., on the subject of bfing & how it affects raising children). Please ask for responses to be sent to you off-list. If there is enough interest in the topic, you can post a summary of the replies you get back to the list.

If you continually find yourself wanting to post or respond to OT stuff, you might want to check out our sister-list, otPumpMoms, created specifically for our members to discuss non-pumping topics. You can check it out at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/otPumpMoms

Unwelcome Topics: Virus Warnings (if you must, send them to the list owners privately for approval), Canned Jokes and "Please Pass This On" letters (i.e.: chain letters, prayer requests, lost children, free Disney trips, etc). Do NOT post these to the list!

Also, please remember that all the women on the pump list are doing the best they can for their infants in their own situation.  Those who can't pump enough for their babies and *have to* supplement may be sensitive to negative comments about formula. Likewise, our EPing members may be sensitive to talk about women who "don't really try" to bf. And everyone is sensitive about the whole SAH vs. WOH issue! :)

Netiquette: Please observe all the normal rules of Netiquette on our list. In particular DO NOT forward any message from this list to another list, person or message board without permission as this is considered rude, an invasion of privacy and/or violation of someone's intellectual property!

More netiquette: Please do not allow your husband/fiance/boyfriend/son/other male to post to the list using your membership. This is a mother-to-mother support group, and the presence of men on the list may make some women extremely uncomfortable, and may change the dynamic of the group. As supportive as some men are, they just can't always understand our perspectives as women!

Legal Issues: Do not use the list to broker used personal pumps or extra Mommy'sMilk! Also, please do not use the list to sell or give away unused medications, such as Reglan or domperidone, two drugs commonly used as supply boosters. Since our list is based in the United States, we must respect U.S laws regarding these issues.  Current U.S. law prohibits the sale of used personal pumps, exchange of breastmilk outside an approved milk bank, and sale of controlled substances (Reglan) outside an approved pharmacy.  Domperidone is a drug that is not FDA-approved for sale in the U.S. and should not be brokered on the list.

Medical Advice: It's important to note that this list provides Mother-to-Mother support only. BTDT information can be very helpful but it's no substitute for consulting your doctor or a good LC if you have or suspect you have a *serious* problem!

To summarize, we know people get frustrated because they want to talk about OT stuff or controversial issues and we try to discourage it. Please keep in mind that we do this because we need to have the valuable info *directly related* to pumping, much of which is only available via this list, to be easily accessible to those who really need it.

Finally, don't forget to check out our web site periodically (address below). There is a lot of good information there about commonly asked questions such as what are the LLL and HMBANA guidelines for milk storage. You can post your member bio and read the bios of other members in our members only section, too.

PumpMoms Policy on Advertising or Promoting within the group

This is a mother-to-mother pumping support group. As such, any mom may post a link to a product or service which she feels has helped her, or would be beneficial to another mother for the purpose of being a pumping mom, provided she does not have a financial interest in said product or service.

Individuals who provide items or services which may be useful to pumping moms, but who are not currently pumping moms themselves (with the exception of LC's), are not generally permitted to join the list as new members. List members who are also retailers of products for use by nursing/pumping moms should not post information (solicited or unsolicited) on-list about sites in which they have a personal financial interest. Information about product  availability and pricing should be sent off-list to members, and only if requested. Retailers can list their URL in their signature file. Additionally, the list owners maintain a collection of links that are member retailer websites, which is available to list members at the Yahoo! site.

We do not permit email address "harvesting;" i.e., an individual subscribing and then utilizing the email addresses of PumpMoms members to promote their products or services. If you feel this has happened to you, please send an email with as many details as possible to pumpmoms-owner@yahoogroups.com so that the group owners can take appropriate action.

If there are questions about this policy, please contact the list owners at the above-listed email address.

How to post - format to use

What format should my posts be in?

Plain ASCII, preferably using the iso-8891-1 charset.  Also note that the standard language on this list is English; while many subscribers speak more than one language, anything more than a snippet or two of another language is strongly discouraged.

When quoting someone else's post, clearly indicate the sender's name and differentiate the quoted text from your reply. '> ' (also known as > followed by a space) is pretty much the standard for quoting text, but any character will do (but not whitespace, please... ala Microsoft Exchange's default). Most mail clients provide this sort of functionality automatically, but some may not.

Please remember to trim your post, and include only the portion of the original message to which you are replying.  Trimming posts helps to keep messages smaller and easier to download, and keeps the digest compilations shorter and easier to read.

And last but not least, try to keep your .signature to four (4) lines or less. This is a pretty well-accepted but not often-followed rule of Netiquette. Many PumpMoms wish to type a line or two describing their pumping situation, such as:  "EP'ing for Sally b.6/5/02"

If you're having problems configuring your mail client, ask for help! Many of us are techies in one way or another, and chances are pretty good that someone else uses the same mail client as you. Replies to these requests should be sent off-list.

 

How to Trim your email posts on the group

Please, please, *please* trim your posts when replying.  This policy is mentioned in the standard welcome message for new members, as well as our list "rules" post that is sent to all members on a regular basis:

<begin quote>
Quoting: Please trim all headers, footers and signature lines from replies and try not to quote already quoted material. Don't forget to change the subject text to reflect the actual topic of the post!<end quote>

You may ask, why is this such a big deal?  Two main reasons: readability and download time.  First, while it may be easier to simply hit Reply, type your response, then hit Send, when you don't trim posts you wind up with messages within messages within messages.  We have even seen posts where the same message is quoted 2 or 3 times in different places.

While this readability issue is bad for those of us who receive individual email, it is even worse for our digest readers.  Digest readers not only have to try to tell the difference between threads, but find the most recent response in a thread.  When the messages are all stacked on top of each other, that gets hard.

In addition, not trimming posts increases the actual size of the message - and for digests, which are a collection of messages and naturally bigger - the increase is bigger.  I'm not talking about numbers of lines, but the actual file size of the message. Large files are not a problem for folks on high-speed connections, like cable or T1. But if you are on a dial-up connection, downloading one of these messages can take a while.  And it's a nuisance.

So how do you trim?  Easy, here's how:

1. From the original message, select the text you wish to reply to and copy it by clicking a toolbar button on your email application, right-clicking and choosing Copy, or pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard.

2. Click reply in your email program to create your response message.  Delete all the original text from your response.

3. Paste the text you copied into your new message by clicking the toolbar button on your email application, right-clicking and choosing Paste or pressing CTRL-V on your keyboard.

4. Type your response, either above or below the message.  When you are finished, send your reply to the group.

Some email programs will preface each line of the original message with a character (such as ">"); this is useful for telling the original question from the response. If your email program does not do this, there are other methods of setting your response apart, including inserting some blank lines or typing <start response> and <end response> before and after your reply.

Members who repeatedly include a lot of original text in their responses will receive an off-list reminder from the Hospitality Mistress.  If the member continues to over-quote, the list owners may choose to take additional action to address the issue.

I know we have a lot of new members and there is a lot of information to process.  But on a list with a lot of members and a lot of information, keep the messages to the point is important. With a little practice, you'll be an expert trimmer in no time!