Mailing lists have been around for a long time, and there's an established way of participating in them. Not only does the discussion in mailing lists tend to be more focused than in other media, but it's also more personal.

There's a vital reason why you should follow mailing list netiquette. The list owner has supreme power over the list. If a subscriber insists on violating list guidelines or flagrantly violates mailing list netiquette, it's a simple matter for the list owner to ban the violator.

That might seem a bit harsh, but a mailing list depends on the cooperation of its subscribers. Getting involved in a mailing list can be a little intimidating at ...