When sending out a message, check and verify carefully to which address you are mailing it. There are at least three addresses you have to differentiate:

list address: (GENERAL-L@ncemsf.org) any mesage sent to the list address will be distributed to all members on the list! Even messages like "what's going on there, where is this mail coming from" ..."what the hell, take me off the list" and more polite things will be received by everybody on the list, together with your name and e-mail address.
listserver address: (e.g. majordomo@ncemsf.org) is the address of the computer program running the list. It makes no sense to complain about something to this address. It is a program and not a real person -- and it will not understand what you are talking about. Make sure you are using the correct syntax -- otherwise your requset will be returned to you unprocessed. As a general rule, do not write anything in the "Subject:" line when sending a command to the listserver.
list owner address: (webmaster@ncemsf.org) This is the address of a real person. Any honest-to-goodness requests for help should be sent here.

When answering a message using the reply function of your mail tool, verify carefully which address you are going to send mail to. Be aware that the list address may be used for the reply although you may see the address of a friend or colleague in the received message. This has caused (and continues to cause) personal catastrophies. Imagine what will happen if you complain about a prominent colleague and send it into the public instead of mailing it to your friend...

On a related note, you might consider including a few lines of quoted text in your reply to remind people what was said originally. But be aware that using too much quoted text from a message takes up precious bandwidth. Therefore, don't just quote text willy-nilly. Highlight and delete any unnecessary stuff before you send a reply, especially things like signature files. You should, in fact, only quote the content that directly pertains to the new message you're sending. (In other words, if someone sends a message with 10 points in it, and you only want to comment on one, you don't need to quote the other nine.)

Never send a request like 'unsubscribe' or 'help' to the list.
The other 400 users are not interested in getting this notification. The correct address to which to send requests is the list processor (see guideline #1).

In case of a mail storm or a severe malfunction of the list processor or the mailing system, please stay cool! In such an emergency, do not send any additional messages to the list! Please, immediately inform the list manager, including any relevant information. Try to be as polite as possible since list managers are only human and they may be under heavy stress in such a situation.

Never use any automatic reply function like the "vacation" program and others. Also, never use the "confirm delivery" or "confirm reading" options. They are another good means for producing a mail storm. Alphanumeric pager gateways are also infamous for causing problems like this.

Don't post messages of a commercial nature on the NCEMSF E-Discussion list. This includes postings about commercial Web sites, EMS product distributors and vendors, and most other commercial entities. There is ONE exception to this no commercialization policy. As a service to NCEMSF members, an individual member may post a personal for-sale message to the list, but only if:

• All replies are directed to personal e-mail
• The item is EMS-related
• The seller is not a commercial vendor

Check the Mail FAQ about the NCEMSF-L list before asking for human intervention. The answers for the most commonly asked questions can be found there.