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Internet Communities. Posting/Editing to Mailing Lists, etc.
The Airheads LIST.
BMW Motorcycle People.
https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/bmwpeople.htm
Conventional wisdom is that when you first join an internet-based group (group, as used here, means a Group, a mailing List, a Forum, etc), it is best to read messages for awhile before you begin contributing. This is known as "lurking" or "monitoring". This is legitimate and approved eavesdropping, where you can observe the method and type of interactions between regular contributors and also get a feel for those who post regularly and not-so-regularly. Jumping in too quickly might expose you to some rather strong personalities. Most Moderators try to keep things civil, and informative. Not posting for a while is also good for determining who has real knowledge, who are the real experts, who is having a bad day (grumpy, cynical, curmudgeonly ...etc.), who has an opinion on everything, etc. Some groups are more social than technical information. Some are filled with BS.
Just below is information that may be of help to you when participating on the Airheads Mailing List (also called the Airlist or the Airheads List) ...which is airheads@lists.micapeak.com. Information may apply to other groups, Lists, etc. Some of this information was on the original listproc mailing software before Micapeak.com's change to the Mailman software in 2006, updates since .....and may not all be on the present Micapeak site. There used to be information about standardized bottom posting, and trimming, particularly in the Digest mode.
Want to join the Airheads List? https://lists.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/airheadsAirheads List (sometimes called the Airlist), from long ago, suitably updated:
The mailing list was created originally through the efforts of Dave Rankine and the Airheads Beemer Club and it was hoped that everyone who joined the List would also join the Club. The purpose of the Airlist was, and still is, to celebrate ownership of the BMW Boxers with Type 247 or earlier engines (also includes the R45 and R65 which are Type 248) through fellowship, good cheer, and camaraderie by sharing technical info, product finds and reviews, questions, short-stories, trip reports, event and gathering info, and other riding and boxer related topics. It was/is not for spamming, flame wars, personal exchanges, etc.
The List is intended to be a high content, low noise, and friendly place to post. Please read a few messages before posting so you get a feel for how it works.
In general, post messages that can benefit the group as a whole as opposed to just quite narrowly speaking to an individual. Please don't post idle chatter. If you have a message that only affects or interests a few people then send it privately. These suggestions do not mean that you should not post responses to such as someone being on the road and having a problem.
Flame Wars, Name Calling, as well as deliberate postings of offlist private email and messages highly critical of other members will not be tolerated on the Airlist.
When you post a message to the Airlist, you should sign your post with at least part of your real name, include your general locality, your year and model of Airhead, and your Airhead Beemer Club (ABC) Member number if you have one.
When you reply to a message, reply after your quoted material and QUOTE JUST ENOUGH of the original post so that others can understand what you are talking about. TRIM OFF THE REST! Please do NOT insert 2 lines of reply above 100 lines of quoted material; this only irritates the rest of the readers. This problem is most often seen, very annoyingly, with those on Digest mode.
Replying after quoted material (called bottom posting), instead of replying before quoted material (called top posting), comes from the earliest days of E-mail, and is not universally true anymore. There have been numerous discussions, even arguments, over the two methods. I suggest you do it in a way that it is apropos to the message, as best possible, in your judgment.
Don't include photos or attachments for the Airlist; they will be stripped off by the Servers automatically. If your content is over 100Kb (which is a huge amount of plain text!), the entire message will be rejected and held for the Moderators to deal with. Do not use your computer's Quoted Printable option, nor colors, odd fonts or other fancy features. Only text is allowed. Anything other than PLAIN TEXT will be likely converted by the Server(s) to plain text....sometimes that automatic process is ugly or confusing. In instances where someone posts photos, and other HTML items, how the Micapeak Servers handle it may vary a bit, but generally the entire message is NOT posted to the LIST, but sent to us Moderators for disposition. Typicall this will be such as admonishing you to not send photos, and asking you to, instead, provide links to photos... on your choice of free-to-use photo posting websites).
Do NOT fail to snip & edit, this is particularly important when using the DIGEST mode. Nothing tends to annoy Members more than receiving a message that contains all of the day's digest, with your 2 lines of added text at the beginning. SNIP & EDIT, cut and paste, and leave only enough of one prior message you are responding to, to identify the message sender & content. MANY Members of Lists (I count myself in this group!), upon seeing a hugely-long posted Digest, will NOT look for YOUR message inside that mess ...but will PRESS DELETE! I ...and others ...may chastise you, gently, for poor editing. A repeat may have most folks IGNORING YOU. Further repeats may result in your being 'placed on Moderation'; or, banned, if the bad behavior continues. There are actually people who pay by the byte, so please consider them. Posting an entire Digest is discourteous. You may find that regular mode and NOT Digest Mode is best for you, and regular mode is usually much simpler for you to edit and post a reply. Some very much prefer Digest Mode, and it is easy to select which you want use.Not all that proficient on editing E-mails? Want to know how to do it better? Want to know about special keyboard characters? Using foreign computers or traveling to foreign countries? ...ETC. ?
https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/E-mail-and-special-characters.htm
WHO are BMW People?
BMW people, if I might be allowed to generalize and stereotype for a moment (you have no choice, unless you press DELETE, right now), tend to be intelligent, pragmatic, thinking individuals. In approaching modifications (especiallly that add visible goodies, and are often called "Mod's" or "Farkles"), BMW riders tend to be guided by concerns over actual measurable gains, comfort, and/or safety aspects. BMW riders usually don't believe Loud Pipes Save Lives arguments. You'll find mostly stock or near stock, and a reasonably quiet sound exhaust system on BMW motorcycles. Oftentimes, such riders/owners are well aware of all the effort BMW went into to develop a quiet exhaust system that actually performs...many times the performance is BETTER than ANY aftermarket system. With some exceptions, BMW folks, for safety, tend towards "All The Gear, All The Time (ATGATT)". Most BMW folks are not showoff types. Few take serious chances.BMW riders tend to accumulate a lot of miles. There are people in the BMW community who routinely log 30,000 to 50,000 miles per year, and there are people who have garnered the Million Mile award ...and at least one person is approaching, or now has, TWO million miles on BMW bikes. There are plenty of BMW's running around with upwards of 300,000 miles on them, and more than a few with double that.
I have over 650K total BMW miles myself; and I am not bragging. I was lucky in being able to find the time to ride a lot, and a lot of those miles were involved with making a living. Now, as a very senior rider (old coot/fart, know-it-all)(with a few medical problems), major riding is something from the past, but I have big memories (when I can remember anything at all!) of fun times.
BMW riders tend to be individuals; tend to avoid riding in packs or in parade formation; tend to be safety-conscious; pursue advanced rider training of various types .....and, tend to avoid riding seriously impaired (many, if not most, don't drink at all when riding).
Many BMW riders venture off the beaten path, visiting and often camping in the great outdoors. Many have done around-the-world trips.
Some don't ride anymore, and still have vast collections of shiny pristine old bikes.
We come from every type of race, religion, color, job, home life, are male and female, etc.
We are everyone.
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Last check/edit:
Monday, July 26, 2021