
The Internet DX Mailing List - Frequently Asked Questions

Comments or additions should be sent to: lyndon@canada.unbc.edu.

Last updated: February 19, 1995
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  1. Introduction

     What is the Internet DX Mailing List?

          It is an electronic mailing list dedicated to the discussion of
          Amateur Radio DXing. This is the place to exchange tips and
          techniques, discuss hardware (rigs, antennas, DSP add-ons), awards,
          DX related software, announce upcoming DXpeditions, etc. Anything
          and everything pertaining to DX is fair game, with the following
          exceptions:

          Don't send requests for QSL info to the DX mailing list. You can
          obtain QSL information via e-mail by sending a message to
          qsl-info@aug3.augsburg.edu. Include in the message body the
          callsigns you want QSL information for - one callsign per line.
          This service is operated by Ray Rocker (W5QL). Please direct
          questions or comments to him at rrrocker@rock.b11.ingr.com. 

          Discussion about contests and contesting should be kept to a
          minimum. The CQ-Contest list already provides an excellent forum
          for contest related discussions. (To subscribe to CQ-Contest, send
          an e-mail request to cq-contest-request@tgv.com) 

  2. Subscribing, Unsubscribing, and Administrivia

     How do I subscribe to the list?

          To subscribe, send an e-mail message to dx-request@unbc.edu with the
          following request in the message body:

          subscribe DX

     How do I unsubscribe from the list?

          To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to dx-request@unbc.edu with
          the following request in the message body:

          unsubscribe DX

          Mail from the list might not cease immediately after you unsubscribe.  
          Due to the way mail is handled, you will receive any messages in 
          the delivery queue (but not yet delivered to you specifically) at 
          the time you unsubscribe. This should only amount to two or three
          messages.

     What about these duplicate messages?

          Once in a while it is necessary for me to restart the mail system.
          If this happens during a delivery run for the mailing list the
          possibility exists that duplicate messages might escape. The mailer
          checkpoints it's delivery state after every four deliveries, so if
          this does happen it will affect no more than four subscribers.

          Unfortunately, duplicate messages can also be caused by mailers at
          the receiving end of the mailing list. I take precautions to prevent
          error messages and the like from escaping back to the mailing list,
          but you would not believe the amount of totally broken mail software
          out there on the Internet these days.

          If you receive one or two duplicate messages, ignore them.

          If you receive more than one or two duplicate messages, send a
          message to the list maintenance address. If you can, include both
          copies of the duplicates with ALL the headers intact. Don't send the
          messages unless you can include all the headers - I cannot debug the
          problem without them.

          DO NOT send mail about the problem to the entire mailing list! The
          list subscribers cannot do anything to fix the problem, and have
          probably figured out for themselves that something is wrong.

     Is the mailing list archived?

          In a word, no.

     How do I send a message to the list?

          It's easy! Just send an e-mail message to: dx@unbc.edu. Your message
          will be automatically resent to all the mailing list subscribers.
          Depending on the load on our mail system this could take anywhere
          from a few minutes to several hours. If you don't see your message
          within a day or so, send a message to dx-request@unbc.edu NOT the
          general submission address) and I will look into the problem.

          Here are a few things to keep in mind when sending a message to the
          list. If everyone follows these guidelines it will help the list
          operate smoothly.

               Make sure your subject line is appropriate. If a conversation
               wanders off the original topic, change the subject line to
               reflect the new line of discussion.

               Proofread your message before sending it! Spelling mistakes and
               poor formatting do nothing to help you get your message across.

               Keep it short! Many subscribers pay for their e-mail access.
               Don't include 100 lines of the message you're replying to and
               then add a three line contribution. Only include as much text
               as is necessary to establish the context for your reply.

               Watch your language! This list is gatewayed onto packet radio.
               Don't say anything that you wouldn't (or shouldn't) say over
               the air. Anyone violating this rule will be dropped from the 
               list immediately!

               If someone asks a question, send your answer to them directly.
               The person asking the question should collect the responses,
               then send a summary to the list. This helps cut down on
               unnecessary list traffic.

               Eschew flamage. If someone sends a flame to the list and you
               can't bite your tongue, send your flaming reply directly back
               to the flaming individual, not back to the list. No one wants 
               to pay $1.00 to read these messages (the original flame + your
               reply). Treat flamers the way you would two-meter repeater
               jammers - ignore them.

               Make sure there is something of value in each message you send
               to the list.

     When I reply to a message using my mailer's REPLY command I never see a
     copy of the message come back from the list. Why?

          There are two possible causes. One is that your mailer sends the
          reply only to the originator of the message. In this case you will
          have to manually CC the mailing list. The second possibility is that
          your mail reader is so ancient and broken that it sends replies to
          the "envelope" from address instead of the From: or Reply-To: header
          values. If your mailer sends replies to dx-request@unbc.edu you are
          running broken software. If you are in the att.com or microsoft.com
          domains you want to double check for this second problem. Note that
          replies sent to dx-request get filed in the bit bucket.

  3. Other Related Internet Services

     Where can I obtain back issues of the various DX bulletins?

          An incomplete archive of DX related bulletins is available via
          anonymous FTP from ve7tcp.ampr.org:/bulletins/. I add back issues as
          I come across them. Feel free to contact me if you can help fill in
          the holes. At some point I hope to set up a WAIS search index that
          will let you do keyword searches on the bulletins in the archive.

     Where can I find out about current solar and propagation conditions?

          One of the best sources is Cary Oler's Solar Terrestrial Dispatch.
          He provides both daily reviews of solar activity and a report of
          current solar conditions updated every three hours. Sites on the 
          Internet can obtain these reports by fingering the following addresses:

               solar@xi.uleth.ca (3-hourly report)
               aurora@xi.uleth.ca (hourly auroral activity report)

          Connectivity to xi.uleth.ca can be slow at times due to network
          conjestion. If you are reading this through the World-Wide Web you
          may find it faster to access this information via my Amateur Radio
          Home Page at http://canada.unbc.edu/radio/.

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Lyndon Nerenberg - VE7TCP - lyndon@canada.unbc.edu


-- 
The cheaper the service is the more error free it has to be.
                                        -- Dean Norris, K7NO

