The eList is run by a team on the www.WGBackfence.net website, the personal website of Larry Ames, operated as a community service. It exists for announcements, questions, discussion and general communication related to the Willow Glen neighborhood.

The eList is not for commercial purposes. Specifically not allowed on the eList are commercial solicitation or political campaigning: no selling telephone time or investment opportunities, and no soliciting of campaign contributions or volunteers. This does not, however, exclude localized personal posts such as yard sales, a great kid's lemonade stand that has popped up on Carolyn St., or responses to requests for information about products or contractor recommendations. It is okay to occasionally announce items for sale, provided: (1): it is not a commercial business (e.g., okay to sell your own car, but not for a car-dealer to do so); (2) be short and sweet: invite interested parties to contact you for more details; (3) include the words "FOR SALE" in the subject line. It is also okay to announce candidate forums, but not okay to promote an event on behalf of a single candidate.

This list is a "closed list" -- only registered members can post. Messages are not reviewed prior to posting -- everything sent to the list that passes simple filters (size limits and spam scoring) is automatically posted. The Moderators may review those posts after-the-fact and might take action (e.g., privately discuss the issue or even suspend the member) as needed to moderate the list.

Note that while the eList itself is automated, the monitoring and administration of the eList is an unpaid volunteer manual process. This "person-in-the-loop" may sometimes result in minor delays, but it helps us with moderating and in avoiding various spam attacks.

These are your friends and neighbors: please observe proper "netiquette" and be friendly and polite.

There are over 2,000 friends and neighbors currently on the eList: please don't bore them with trivia or too many posts, and be careful about giving out TMI (Too Much Information).

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Who can join the WG eList?

The eList is free for anyone interested in Willow Glen: residents, former residents, folks who are interested in possibly moving to Willow Glen, folks who own property here, rent here, work here, or are just interested in the community. The eList also welcomes our elected officials, city and other governmental staff, reporters, and those interested in learning how to establish list-serves in other areas.

To join, see "How to eList".

Please read the rules and guidelines at www.WGBackfence.net/welcome_message.htm, and decide if you want the "Immediate Mode" (with dozens of messages a day) or "Digest Mode" (perhaps one or two per day, each with a "Table of Contents" and links to the individual posts.

We appreciate you telling your friends about the eList, but please have them send in the requests themselves, from the

email accounts they wish use, (1) for privacy and security reasons, and (2) so we can avoid typos by cut-and-pasting the addresses.

Volunteers will add the accounts to the subscriber's roster in a timely manner, and a welcoming message will be sent containing the how-to instructions, along with the rules and guidelines.

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What are the "Immediate" and "Digest" modes?
How does one switch between modes?

The eList has two modes: "Immediate" and "Digest".

- In Immediate Mode, each post to the eList is delivered to you immediately as a separate message (sometimes a couple dozen per day). Each post will have "[WGBackfence]" at the start of the subject line, which allows for easy sorting (see "filtering").

- In Digest Mode, your messages are saved, possibly for a day or two, and then sent as a collection, along with a "table of contents". (If there is heavy email traffic, the digests may arrive more frequently.) The Digest Mode may be preferable for those who do not want to be bothered with frequent "you've got mail" interruptions, but, depending on the settings and software on your individual computer, the messages may be a little more cumbersome to read. Also, you lose the immediacy, which could be an issue with emergency safety notices (and offers for free goodies). Note: the Digest mode does not work well on Apple iPhones with older versions of the operating system or some other systems. Also: the format of the Digest may change over time, depending on how various automatic software updates change the configuration of your computer.

A good compromise between Immediate and Digest is to have the Immediate Mode and to configure you email account to automatically place all WGBackfence eList messages into a special folder that you can then read when convenient: click >here< for instructions.

To switch modes:
Write to admin@WGBackfence.net and ask to be switched to the other mode. Send the email from the account to be changed, and include "switch mode to ____" on the subject line.

Note that you will receive a “goodbye” notice and a “welcome message” as you are dropped from the one list and added to the other.

BTW: the eList community is nearly evenly split between Immediate and Digest modes.

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How do I get off the eList?

Simply send an email to us off-list at Admin@WGBackfence.net with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line, and a volunteer will remove you as soon as we can. Please don't write to the entire community -- we all get enough other email!

Please send the request from the account you wish to have removed, so that we can cut-and-paste the address and avoid typos.

If you are thinking of leaving because of the quantity of emails, consider the options discussed in "Too much email!" (below).

If you are leaving because you are moving: you don't have to quite the eList if you don't want to. We don't have geographic requirements, and you can "keep in touch with your old home town" if you wish.

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Who moderates this list?

The Willow Glen Backfence eList is moderated by Larry Ames, with support from a small team of select volunteers.

The eList is a "list-server", meaning that any post sent to the eList automatically gets posted. Moderation happens as needed "after the fact", generally in the form of "gentle reminders" sent off-list to the involved parties.

Please do not try to moderate the eList yourself: don't send complaining messages to others, either on-list or off-list.

"Leave it to the professionals!" ;-)

Chances are good that we will already have dealt with the situation, quietly and without disturbing the rest of the eList community. Any messages sent by others, however well-meaning, would at best be duplicative.

If you find a post that warrants attention, please contact us at Moderator@WGBackfence.net, and we'll try to handle it in a timely fashion.

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How to post

Just write your message and send like any other email it to eList@WGBackfence.net

(If you have multiple email accounts, be sure to post from the account that you've registered with us.)

Please include an appropriate subject line, (1) for the convenience of your readers, and (2) to avoid having your message intercepted by various spam-filters. If the topic changes, change the subject line -- "good vet (was lost dog)"

Do not include graphics and don't attach files (their inclusion will cause the post to be automatically rejected), but it's fine to include links to such files.

Don't worry if you don't get an "echo" of your post: your own computer may be blocking such self-posts as possible spam.

If you get an error message from EZMLM, see if it explains the problem, such as "too big" (remember, no graphics!) or "not registered" (sent from the wrong account?). If you need help, contact us at moderator@WGBackfence.net.

Remember: these are your friends and neighbors: please observe proper "netiquette" and be friendly and polite.

Don't bore them with trivia or too many posts, and be careful about giving out TMI (Too Much Information).

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How to reply to a post

First off, decide whether you wish to reply to the individual privately and off-list, or publicly to the entire eList community.

If you're in "Immediate Mode", you can just "Reply" or "Reply All", as appropriate.

If you're in "Digest Mode", it's probably easier to create a new email message, and then <ctrl>C to "copy" the individual's email address and then <ctrl>V "paste" it into the "to" line.

When replying to the whole eList community, it's fine to also copy the individual. At worst they'll receive a duplicate message, but if they're in the Digest Mode themselves, being copied assures they'll receive a timely response. There is no way of telling if the receiver is in Immediate Mode or Digest; and the overall eList community is nearly evenly split between the two.

Remember, on-list or off-, be polite: these are your friends and neighbors.

There's no need to resend the previous post in its entirety, but it is quite helpful to include a <<snippet>> of the previous post in order to provide context and continuity. You may be replying "I agree" to a post saying "cats are fuzzy", but before you hit the <send> key someone else may have posted a message about the sewage treatment plant, and your message could be taken out-of-context.

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Why couldn't I post my message?

There are a number of possible causes:

Are you sure the message wasn't posted? If you didn't get an error message from EZMLM, then perhaps the message was posted, but you just didn't get the "echo" -- see below.
Are you subscribed to the eList? If not, write to admin@WGBackfence.net and ask to be subscribed.
Are you posting your message from the email address account that is registered? If not, try again using the registered account, and/or write to admin@WGBackfence.net and ask to have the second account registered as well. (It is not uncommon for folks to have both a home and a work account registered.)
Did you include graphics or attach files? -- They are not allowed, and will cause the post to be automatically rejected.
Did the email look like spam? The eList host software has spam-detection algorithms that will reject messages that are missing subject lines, have TOO MANY CAPS or exclamation marks!!!, or that have only website links without any accompanying text.

Additionally,

Some accounts are experiencing difficulty in posting messages:

this is the result of a known eList bug that we are currently fighting.

Due to some new anti-virus protocols ("DMARC") that have recently been implemented by various internet providers, it seems that posts sent from AOL and Yahoo accounts are not always being received by readers in Immediate mode, although they do seem to go thru to those reading in the Digest mode. AOL and Yahoo accounts can still read any post, and they can reply to any comment, but they are unable to initiate a new topic. The best work-around if you wish to post to the eList is to get a new account (e.g., from Gmail or Outlook), register, and use it. [Sorry for the inconvenience!]

This is in addition to the other problem: Yahoo posts sent from an Apple iPhone are often marked as 'spam' unless they are sent using the Yahoo app.

Email by other service providers currently seems unaffected.

We're working with our webhost's Tech-Support on solution: a software patch is planned for some time in the future.

For now, those with AOL and Yahoo accounts can still>read< everything.

But if you have an AOL or Yahoo account and want to>write<, please get an additional account from some other service (e.g., from Outlook.com or Google GMail), subscribe it (I'd recommend "digest mode" to avoid too much mail), and then send your postings from that Outlook account.

Yes, I know! this is inconvenient: it is for all of us! Sorry!

[Oh the joys of working with computers!]

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Why aren’t I getting any eList messages?

Sometimes your email reader will think the eList is spam: check your spam trap.

Your software can be trained: click on the messages and say "this is not spam".

Sometimes your software is automatically updated: if you notice a break in the eList, check the spam trap: the software may need to be retrained.

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iPhone "eccentricities"

The older versions of the Apple iPhone operating system do not support the Digest Mode. Either upgrade to the latest version or write to admin@WGBackfence.net and ask to be switched to the Immediate Mode.

Currently, the Digest Mode is somewhat "awkward" on the iPhone. It can be read, but each message is "double-wrapped" -- a link to a link. Hopefully this will improve over time.

Also: the Apple iPhone does not "play well" with Yahoo: it generates a "forged account" message that causes the eList host software to mark it as "spam".

If you have a Yahoo account, either

· use the Yahoo app on your iPhone, or

· use some other computer to write to the Yahoo account.

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Too much email!

If you're just being overwhelmed by the quantity of email, consider switching to the "Digest Mode" -- you'll get maybe one or two compendia of the posts a day, each with a Table of Contents and links to the individual posts which you could then read or ignore as you wish. Alternatively, you can configure you email system so that all WGBackfence posts are automatically sorted into a separate folder for easier reading – see this webpage.

If interested in switching to Digest mode, write to us at admin@WGBackfence.net with "switch to Digest Mode" in the subject line.

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How to Automatically sort eList posts to a folder

see this webpage.

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How can I look up past posts?

Short answer: you can't.

The eList is an ongoing dialog, "chatting with friends and neighbors over the back fence"; it is not a "blog" (not "messages posted on the wall"). Couple reasons for this: (1) liability (folks can't complain about what's posted on our website because nothing is posted) and (2) simplicity -- this is easier.

You may be able to look up past posts on your own email server: depending on the software and how it is configured, old posts are sometimes saved as "old mail" or "read mail".

Also, when members post recommendations and grant us permission to quote them (as indicated by including the phrase "okay to quote"), we will collect, edit, and post their comments to the Recommendations webpage (http://www.wgbackfence.net/recommend.htm). As this is a "low budget operation" (involving free volunteer labor), there may be some number of weeks or months between the original post and its appearing on the webpage.

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How to suspend the eList for vacation

Write off-list to admin@WGBackfence.net and ask to be removed from the eList. Send the email from the account to be suspended, and include "suspend from the eList" on the subject line.

When you return, please write admin again and ask to be resubscribed. Be sure to indicate which mode you prefer. (Sorry, but we do not have the ability to keep track of every account's coming and going, so it is your responsibility to inform us when you return.)

Alternatively, you might consider switching to the Digest Mode while you're away: your in-basket won't be filled with too many messages, and you'll still be able to see what has happened that is of interest.

Do NOT announce to the entire eList that you are going on vacation on specific days: while probably over 99% of the folks in the eList community are totally trustworthy, there's several thousand members, so why risk the odds?

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What is "EZMLM?"

This is the software on Superb.net, webhost for www.WGBackfence.net that actually runs the eList. It may on occasion send out cryptic warning messages: they either inform you why you may have had trouble posting a message, or else they are cryptic messages about bounced emails that can be ignored. Also, if you've signed up for the eList in "Digest" mode, you might get files with an .EZM extension. If they do not automatically open on your computer, configure Windows to associate the extension with Notepad.

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What's this "warning message" from "elist-help"about bounced emails?

Nearly everyone will occasionally get such a message: even I, with all the privileges(!) that come with being moderator, will get these "bounced email" messages from time-to-time.

Short answer: the eList software "burped": please forgive and ignore.

Longer answer:

The eList is a "list server". When you write to it, it forwards your message to everyone on the list.
If someone changes their email account and doesn't inform the administrator (at admin@WGBackfence.net), the old account will still be on the list.
When you post a message to the eList, it gets sent to the now-inactive account, which often sends back a message to the effect that "the number has been disconnected and is no longer in service". It could be very annoying to be flooded with dozens of such messages every time you post something!
To avoid that problem, the eList software ("ezmlm") intercepts those messages, notes which addresses seem to be invalid, and tries a second time by sending out a rather cryptic message. (Sorry, but I haven't figured out how to change it into something more readable. Note: despite what the message says, you can not retrieve lost posts.)
The problem is that sometimes your email server is "down" (e.g., for maintenance) when the eList tries to send out some message, so it falsely thinks that you have left. It then sends you the cryptic warning message, you receive it because now your server is back up and functioning, and you get confused.
If you get the message, it means that your email is working, and there is nothing that you have to do.
If your email had been disconnected, that second message would have bounced, too, and the eList software would then remove your account from the list to avoid any future "that person is not here" messages.
Sometimes, by random bad chance, your server may be down when the second message is sent. You'll then be automatically disconnected from the eList, and neither you nor we will be informed of it -- it will just suddenly be unusually quiet. If this happens, write to the administrator (at admin@WGBackfence.net) and ask to be resubscribed. (Please indicate whether you want to be in the Immediate or Digest mode.)

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What's with the SPAM in the subject line?
Why was my post marked as SPAM ?!

The eList host software has spam-detection algorithms that grades each email by various criteria:

Is the message missing its Subject line?
Does it have TOO MANY CAPS or exclamation marks!!!?
Is the message only a website link?
Is the email from a service-provider that is known to have sent spam often in the past?
Sometimes there's nothing wrong with your message, but your email software is putting too many "web-enhancing" tags in it (legit or otherwise). They may be .HTML marking for <bold> <fancy-fonts>, or they could be embedded viruses.

Based on these tests, a score is assigned. If less than a 6, the message is forwarded; if above some number (7?), it is automatically discarded. But if it is in between, it is forwarded on to you with a warning, "***SPAM***" in the subject line, and you can decide whether to read it or not.

Note that even a simple post like "FREE GOODIES GONE!!" may trip the spam-detection algorithm.

It can help to configure your email software to send simple, plain text rather than the fancier, web-based text.

Alternatively, if you create you message into a simple text editor (e.g., Notepad) and then cut-and-paste from there into your email message, it'll be sent as clean ASCII-text that should be free of any problems.

Also:

The eList host software may mark a post as "spam" if it sent from a Yahoo account using an Apple iPhone: the two systems just do not work well together.

To avoid this problem, either

write to your Yahoo account by means of a Yahoo application on the iPhone, or
write to your Yahoo account from some other computer.

And make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date.

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Why is the eList "sluggish"?

Sometimes the eList is "sluggish": messages sit in a queue somewhere and get delayed by hours or even days. I'm not sure of the cause -- it may be because the server is under a "denial of service" attack by a hacker somewhere, and the software is too busy fighting off the spam attacks to handle the eList messages. Please forgive and be patient.

On rare occasions, the eList software may crash entirely. When this happens, I am usually in contact with the webhost tech support, trying to get the matter straightened out. However, there is no way I can tell you about the problem, since the eList is down and doesn't allow me to communicate with you! (I tried once to send out a status message personally to each and every one on the eList, as I had a backup copy of the addresses at the time. I was immediately suspended by my email service, since no one but a spammer would send out a message to a thousand addresses at the same time! It took a lot of fast-talking to convince tech-support that I really wasn't a spammer!) Again, please be patient.

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Why can't I see my own messages when I post?

Sometimes one does not receive an "echo" of the post -- you can't see your own post -- because of your email system's "spam trap".

It is a fairly common trick of spammers to use your own email address as the "from" account.

Email services have become wise to this trick and so will think anything from your own account is "a wolf in sheep's clothing" and will direct it to the spam-trap.

So, your own (real) email also gets sent to the trap, and you end up thinking that the eList did not post your message.

Please check your spam-trap. By clicking on the message and saying "this is not spam", you >may< be able to train your email server to stop trapping your messages (at least for a while...)

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Spam, the eList, and how to deal with a spam-zombie

The eList is a "closed list", which means that only registered accounts can post. This significantly reduces the amount of spam. However, anyone who is registered can post anything, and the Moderators only see it after it has been posted.

Sometimes, a subscriber's account is compromised. It doesn't really matter whether the computer has a virus that is sending out spam or whether the password has been compromised and someone outside is sending the message through your account. Either way, the spam can enter the eList through that registered account.

If your account appears to have been taken over by a spam zombie (or has had the password compromised), we will remove you from the eList and send you a warning message.

Please change your email password (use a "strong" password, 8 character or more, with CAPS, lower-case, numbers 0-9, & $ymbo!$), and then have your computer cleaned of the virus. (You can find community-recommended service providers on the "Community Recommends" tab: type <ctrl>F to find "computer".)

Once you get matters straightened out, you may contact the administrator at admin@WGBackfence.net and ask to be reinstated.

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Are there eLists in other areas?

no, the WG Backfence eList is "unique" -- even the name "eList" was my own invention! ;-)

(Others have also had the same idea, and the word is not trademarked. However, if you Google the word "elist", out of over 2 million hits nationwide, ours comes in the top ten!)

There are a couple comparable list-serves in the area: the WG one was based over a decade ago on one by the Campus Community area (downtown SJ), and there's a quite active list-serve in the Shasta/Hanchett-Park (Rose Garden) area. I understand that there is also a list-serve in the Sunnyvale area.

These various list-serves are all "organic", "grass-roots" organizations, growing by word-of-mouth.

There are numerous Yahoo groups of various size and activity serving various neighborhoods, large and small, from individual city blocks to regional interests (e.g., houses of a particular style).

Various commercial enterprises are trying to serve the communities with their own Facebook pages, Ning, NextDoor, Google, or other sites.

The Neighborhoods Commission has a "Communications Outreach" committee, so that information from the City in theory should be sent to a Commissioner in each Council District, which in turn is to be distributed to as many groups within our districts as possible for them to forward as appropriate -- an updated version of the old "telephone tree".

(If one is interested in setting up an eList for another area, contact me at moderator@WGBackfence.net. I'd be glad to share some of the tricks in establishing an eList.)

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Are there other services in Willow Glen?

Yes: check out the following:

"Willow Glen Charm" on Facebook -- a group-site established by Holly Barr, featuring local news and photos
The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, at www.wgna.net

There are also various local Yahoo groups, block emails, and special interest groups: happy web-surfing!

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How to find community recommendations

The collected wisdom of the eList community is online at:

http://www.wgbackfence.net/recommend.htm

There's a Table of Contents near the top with links to the various topics.

Alternatively, type <ctrl>F to "find" the specific topic of interest.

Only those recommendations that are "okay to quote" are collected and archived.

The webpage has the recommendations from the past year or two. Older recommendations for the time-honored "tried and true" businesses are available at the linked prior-recommendations webpage.

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Why aren't all recommendations quoted?

The eList community is very resourceful, and very generous in providing information and recommendations.

The eList support team includes several volunteers who collect, condense (as needed) and format the information, and then we collect it all and merge it into a readily accessible webpage at http://www.wgbackfence.net/recommend.htm.

We only collect those recommendations that we are granted permission to quote, as indicated by the inclusion of the phrase "OK to quote" (or some readily recognizable variation thereupon).

I have noticed quite a few good recommendations lately that, unfortunately, we weren't given permission to quote and which will thus be lost to the great electronic bit-bucket.

(If you posted a recommendation but forget to give permission, just write to Shirley at recommend@wgbackfence.net to let her know: no need to repost to the entire list.)

But without explicit authorization, we won't collect and post a recommendation.

Explanation:

the eList is a "closed" community: there are roughly 2,000 subscribers, and the posts to the eList go only to those subscribers -- your friends and neighbors who live (or used to live, want to live, rent, own, or work) in Willow Glen.
however, the collected recommendations webpage is posted to the World Wide Web (the www. in the name), and, as the name implies, it is accessible by the entire world.

A recommendation like "Joe's pizza is great" by itself has little merit: who is making the recommendation? --is this Joe himself just advertising his pizzas?

It's much better to know that Fred likes Joe's pizza: you know Fred and his tastes, and if you like the same type of pizzas as Fred does, his recommendation means something to you.

But it's one thing for Fred to tell his friends over the back fence that he likes Joe's pizza, and quite another thing to tell the Whole Wide World (that www. thing again!) that he, Fred, formally and publicly likes Joe's pizza, and also that if you'd like you may write to him to ask him follow-up questions ("does it have a thick crust?").

The collected recommendations include the name of the person making the recommendation (but not TMI -- too much information), and also a link so that others may contact him/her.

We take some precautions to limit the ease of others to harvest email addresses for spamming, and I haven't had any problems in 13 years of personally recommending services and suppliers, but I respect that others may have different concerns and sensitivities: that is why we ask permission to quote them before actually doing so. (Also, that saves me a lot of legal hassles over any potential misunderstandings...)

With over 2,000 people on the eList, it'd be impractical for our small band of volunteers to keep track of every individual subscriber and to know that Fred says it's OK to quote anything he says, Sue never wants to be quoted, we can only quote George if he has something nice to say, and Sally hasn't yet said her choice: it's easier and better that we ask each individual quotable recommendation to include some indication that it's okay to quote them.

So: that's why the "OK to quote".

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Even with the authorization to quote, it may be some time before it actually gets folded into the webpage: it is a time-consuming process undertaken by overworked volunteers, and something that sometimes gets set aside for a rainy day...

Self-promotion and advertising local small businesses

The Community Recommends webpage is also a site for local services to announce their availability (e.g., babysitters, house-cleaners, etc.): those names are listed for free, along with contact information, but might or might not be followed by community endorsements. These self-announcements are listed in Teal rather than Green, and the contact information is marked with ">>" or similar indications. Small local Willow Glen businesses (5 equivalent employees or less) may send a notice off-list to recommend@WGBackfence.net. Our volunteers reserve the right to edit the notices (as appropriate) and to adapt into a standard format for incorporation. (There is no charge for this service, and no guarantee that the notice will be posted in a timely manner or at all.)

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Proper eList "netiquette"

Please observe proper "netiquette"

Regardless of topic, it is never acceptable to personally attack another person, on or off of the eList - NO FLAMING! Be as courteous to your neighbors online as you would be in person.

Remember to sign your name and indicate your general location or affiliation.

There are over 2,000 of your friends and neighbors currently on the eList: please don't bore them with trivia or too many posts, be careful about giving out TMI (Too Much Information), and be respectful, friendly, and polite.

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What is appropriate to post?

Acceptable posts are personal email about Willow Glen.

We recommend that new subscribers "listen in" on the conversation for a while rather than immediately jumping in with posts: it helps for one to first get a sense of the eList, which is by now a well-established community.

Often it is clear that a subject is acceptable [e.g., "lost cat on Cherry Ave"]. Also allowed: localized personal posts such as yard sales, a great kid's lemonade stand that has popped up on Carolyn St., or responses to requests for information about products or contractor recommendations.

It is okay to occasionally announce items for sale, provided: (1): it is not a commercial business (e.g., okay to sell your own car, but not for a car-dealer to do so); (2) be short and sweet: invite interested parties to contact you for more details; (3) include the words "FOR SALE" in the subject line.

It is also okay to announce candidate forums, but not okay to promote an event on behalf of a single candidate.

Specifically not allowed on the eList are commercial solicitation or political campaigning: no selling telephone time or investment opportunities, and no soliciting of campaign contributions or volunteers.

Do not forward advertisements.

Do not post "opportunities" from Groupon or similar sites: they are more like advertisements for themselves than for what they're offering.

When it is not obvious, the posters are encouraged to contact the list Moderator at "moderator@WGBackfence.net" for guidance. The Moderators base their decisions on the wishes of the eList community, as measured by surveys of the group (the most recent one is on-line at http://www.WGBackfence.net/survey_2010.htm).

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Why no jokes?

The eList community is very busy, and many of us don't have the time to deal with additional emails in our in-baskets.

Also, a joke depends on the audience, and what one group might find funny could be offensive (or even worse, deadly boring) to another.

And often a joke depends on the inflection of the speaker's voice – something that is lost in email.

It's best to leave joke-telling to the professional comics and use the eList for what it does best – the sharing of community information with your friends and neighbors.

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Why no ads?

Because we don't want any! ;-)

We are running the eList as a community service, and not for making a profit. We are already inundated all the time with too many commercials, and we don't want to spend our limited free time so that we can be flooded with more.

It's okay to point out that there's a kid's lemonade stand at the end of the block, or to say that you are selling you own personal car or renting out your own private home, but it's totally different if your job is to sell cars or real estate.

Please don't use the eList to point out sales at local stores, or to announce Groupon or other such specials: those who are interested in such things can subscribe to those services on their own if they wish. We and the eList community do not want this to just be an electronic "penny-saver".

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Fundraisers

It's fine to announce cheerleader car-washes, library bake-sales, and the like.

We'll accept posts about local pancake houses or taco stands giving the evening's proceeds to your local charity (e.g., high school, homeless shelter, etc.). Keep the posts "short-and-sweet": when, where, for whom, and how to contact you off-list for more info. Links are okay, but no graphics or attached files.

It's not okay to forward advertisements (e.g., from "Deals for Good" or the like) with the promise of receiving some portion of the proceeds: they look like ordinary advertisements, and we're left with the impression that someone thought it's cheaper to donate a couple bucks than it is to pay for printing the ad in the papers.

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Why no graphics?

The eList has been configured to reject large posts such as graphics and attached files. While it may be feasible to sneak in some graphics, we ask that you don't. Reasons:

graphics may be difficult for some users, such as those with slow internet connections or those with small screens (e.g., smart-phones).
viruses and other malware can sometimes be embedded into graphics files
and there's the question of content: what some consider "artistic" others might consider "inappropriate". And then there's the case where someone posts a picture of a flower and there happens to be a billboard in view in the background, is that a commercial? -- and would a competitor then be allowed to post a picture of his/her sign if there's a flower in front of it?

Rather than having to download and review every picture and then make judgment calls, it's so much easier for us to draw the line at no graphics.

Signature Lines

When posting to the eList, sign your name and indicate your general location or affiliation. You may have multiple styles of signing depending on the situation: for example, I may sign as "Larry on Willow" for personal comments, "Larry, Moderator" when writing on behalf of the eList, and "Larry, Commissioner" when relaying official statements.

Don't give "Too Much Information": you don't have to include street numbers or phone numbers.

We ask that you do not use "automatic signature lines" when posting to the eList, as they often contain graphics and/or advertisements.

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Automated Spam-rejection software

Some email accounts are configured to reject spam by requiring those writing to "verify" that they're not spammers (usually by the typing in of displayed characters). But the eList is an automated system, and is unable to respond to those requests. As a result, the eList posts never get past the user's gate and so are not received.

We are taking all reasonable precautions to minimize spam. To use the eList, create a new email account if needed (e.g., a free Google gmail account) and register for the eList using it.

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Why no national debates?

The eList is an excellent forum for the discussion of local events – those directly related to Willow Glen – and that is more than enough for our small service. Please discuss topics like sex, religion, taxes, guns, national politics and the like on other more appropriate forums, and let us have this space here free for Willow Glen issues.

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Who decides what's appropriate?

The eList is on the private web domain of Larry Ames, who personally moderates the eList with the assistance of a small support team. We are guided in our moderating efforts with feedback from the community, based in part on surveys of the community.

If you have any questions about the appropriateness of a post, please contact us off-list at Moderator@WGBackfence.net.

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Why such a small limit on file size?

The eList is configured to automatically reject any post that is larger than 25 kB.

This is large enough for any reasonable dialog, but small enough to restrict many viruses and other malware, graphics, advertisements, and other unwanted insertions and attachments.

If you get an error message that your post was rejected because of size, check to see that it doesn't contain fancy graphics or fonts, signature lines, or other unwanted material.

If you're responding to a previous post, just include a <<snippet>> of the previous email -- enough to provide context and continuity -- without copying all of it, as well as all of whatever it may have been responding to as well.

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What's the privacy policy?

The owner(s), operator(s) and associates of the Willow Glen Backfence (www.WGBackfence.net) and its eList, will not sell, share, or otherwise distribute personal information, except by court order.

The only information we have is the list of email addresses for the eList user rosters.

We do collect, edit, and publish information from email posts when explicitly given permission to do so, as indicated by "okay to quote" or other similar phrasing.

The eList is a list of subscribers to the neighborhood list-serve email service. While we will not share the personal information, as outlined above, please note that the use of the eList does reveal the user's email address to all subscribers of the eList, and to anyone to whom that email may have been forwarded. It is against the eList rules and guidelines to sell, share, or otherwise distribute another subscriber's email address or other personal information for commercial purposes without the subscriber's permission.

Privacy is also the responsibility of you, the user. Don't post TMI ("Too Much Information"): if asking for a locksmith, don't tell the world that you live at 1234 S 5th and the front door won't close; if asking for skis, don't say you'll be up in the Sierra on the 6th - 9th. Also, rather than giving out personal home phone numbers, ask that people email you off-list, or give a work or cell number.

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How to contact us:

the moderators can be reached at moderator@WGBackfence.net
the administrator can be reached at admin@WGBackfence.net
the recommendations consolidator can be reached at recommend@WGBackfence.net, and
the website owner can be reached at Larry@WGBackfence.net .

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Enjoy!

~Larry Ames, eList founder/owner/moderator

Oct. 23, 2013; rev. 12/16/16