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Ridecamp Rules - State of the List



Ridecampers,

My husband and I just returned from the New Mexico Renegade ride (thankyou Randy!! for 
another great ride). When we left for the ride I was pretty unhappy with what Ridecamp 
has become lately. So I thought a lot about it during those 285 miles across the desert...
On the drive home - somewhere in southern Utah - I phoned the office and asked my sysadmin
to shut the list down until I decided what to do.

I started this list 3 years ago - with a core group of endurance people that were frequenting
the rec.equestrian news group. These were people that wanted to specifially discuss
endurance issues. Since then the list has grown from 25 to 1000. Many people from
other equine disciplines joined Ridecamp, because of the quality of information that
it offered - and the lack of junk that they had to wade through. Unfortunately many 
others joined because the other lists and forums were getting too crowded, and they 
wanted a new place to chat. 

Very few of you understand what it takes to run a listserve. My company is in the web
and internet business, so I have  the machines, staff and expertise to run one. It takes
a LOT of my time - and believe me the amount of email RIdecamp generates takes a fair
hit on our mail server resouces too. Plus I have salaried staff who spend a fair amount
of time upgrading software, fighting fires, helping me add new features, etc. It is not
a trivial thing to keep this list running smoothly. 

I truly believe that Ridecamp is one of the very best sources of information 
about endurance and distance riding available. The immediate Q&A response, the wealth
of expertise of many subscribers, the ability to post announcements and ride results, 
discuss AERC and FEI issues, and all the wonderful stories and experiences of 
those of you who are involved in the sport - this is good stuff! We have all learned 
an incredible amount of practical and theoretical information - and have had some good laughs,
and even shed a few tears. And those of you who recently did (or plan to do) your first 
ride have had access to an incredible amount of information and first hand accounts 
of how to do it - what to expect, what to watch out for. 

So, given how strongly I feel about the value of Ridecamp, I do not want to quit running
it - and therefor I do not want to see it ruined. I am going to once again explain the parameters
of the list, and pay close attention to the posts for a few weeks. Many of you may not
be aware of the do's and don'ts - so I will spend time sending private messages if I
feel that you either don't understand or are not respecting Ridecamp 'rules' . 

Rule # 1. Endurance and distance riding topics!!! This is probably the toughest, 
because we all have horses, and therefore we all deal with every level of horsemanship 
and management. And all topics are related to distance riding at some level - but 
Ridecamp is for focusing on aspects of horsemanship and management that are 
critical or unique to the demands of long distance riding. 

...and when we do stray off course, please don't linger - and it's often appropriate
to take topics private. Sometimes there are just a few of you hashing out opinions
and we'd love to have you do it in private. 

...and if you would like to ask a non-endurance related question I really don't have
a problem, as long as you request private replies to your question. Some of you
ask me before you post an off-topic question or announcement, and I greatly appreciate
that!

Rule #2. Do not send attachments to the list. Some of you who use Netscape
mail, inadvertantly send messages as html or mime attachments - you can fix
this in the mail/options menu. Please, no photographs, or documents that
are not included in the body of the email message. For one thing many people have
slow connections and a huge file can tie up their system for a very long time. For
another this really takes a hit on our mail servers - sending out 2 MB files to 1000
subscribers is not trivial!! I get in lots of trouble from the techies.

Rule #3. Do not become a 'metoobe' - consider this list like a big auditorium. Would
you stand up to the microphone and announce "me too" or 'I agree' to the whole room? If you
agree - or disagree- and have another point to make, or piece of information to add, 
that is different and please speak your mind. 

Pretty simple really - if you all can just understand the purpose of Ridecamp, and
show some respect and good manners, I think we'll be ok. I *am* determined to
preserve the quality of this list. It's really only a handful of people who either
don't understand or don't care about the keeping the list focused and clutter-free. 
So I'll send private and/or public messages out for a while until everyone gets
the idea. 

I'll be starting the list back up shortly after you receive this message. Please 
recognize the gem that we have and help preserve it!

Steph Teeter

p.s. If any of you wish to start your own list, to discuss different topics, or just to chat,
there are service providers that will host them for you. Our rates are $200 setup fee
and $50/month to house the list (does not include list administration). But beware - 
the $$ costs are just a small part of it :)




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