LISTSERV ETIQUETTE AND ALPHABET SOUP (OR: DO "FOLCS" AND "SPOCKs" SUFFER FROM "LCWS")? 

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 If you are a new member of the mailing list, we ask you to consider the following "rules."

A. Introductions.

Please introduce yourself to the list! You may lurk quietly the rest of the time (though everyone is encourage to participate), but please post something about yourself at least once, so we know you are there.

B. Flames and personal attacks.

Short answer. They aren't allowed. We try to get along here.

C. "Spoilers."

Spoiler warnings help list members who have not seen a new episode avoid messages that might "give away" the episode's plot. The typical practice is to put a spoiler warning in the topic or first few lines of your message to avoid inadvertently revealing plot points to list members who have not yet seen the episode. The informal rule is that messages to the list with "spoiler" content should be preceded by spoiler warnings at least through the Tuesday following the episode's premiere.

D. Acronyms.

New list members may be baffled by the alphabet soup of acronyms that fly around the list. Most of these acronyms started on the Internet mailing list but have caught on in other places as well. Expect to see some of the following:

FOLCs = Fans of Lois and Clark (This particular acronym was coined by Joe Dawis in the first weeks of LOISCLA in early 1994. It has since become the most widely used of all the acronyms; TPTB even slipped it into the background of a Daily Planet newsroom scene in the third season episode, "Oedipus Wrecks":



LCWS = Lois and Clark Withdrawal Syndrome (a sickness that afflicts FOLCs during the show's all-too-frequent preemptions)

TPTB = The Powers That Be (typically a reference to the producers and the network)

SWOCK=Shallow Women Ogling Clark Kent

SPOCK = Shallow People Ogling Clark Kent

MATH=Men Admiring Teri Hatcher

PATHETIC=People Admiring Teri Hatcher, Even Though It's Crazy

TDOLL=Tireless Defenders of Lois Lane

WAFF=Warm and Fuzzy Feeling

Episode titles also tend to be quickly reduced to acronyms. You may wish to consult the episode title list in section 15 when the discussion turns to, for example, the relative merits of "GGGoH" and "TEHI."

Mike Williams (mrwillia@ou.edu) compiles and maintains the unofficial "L&C Acronym List" which itself goes by the acronym "LNCAL." You can click here to see Mike's complete list.

E. Combining posts.

This list generates a tremendous amount of mail (some tips for managing the message volume can be found in section 18). Listmembers are strongly urged to avoid "me too" or "I agree" messages, and to combine their posts into multiple topic messages whenever possible.

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