Leonenet Mailing List Subscription Policy

Purpose of Leonenet

Leonenet is a mailing list for Sierra Leoneans and friends of Sierra Leone. This electronic mailing list is a free forum for discussing, debating, sharing and formulating ideas that concern Sierra Leone.

Postings can cover any topic of choice (with exceptions listed below). This includes politics, economics, culture, education, history, geography, architecture, medicine, development, etc. Postings may include news, opinions, observations, humor, announcements, or requests. If it has anything to do with Sierra Leone, it can be discussed.

Leonenet Membership

Leonenet is a majordomo mailing list, which means you can subscribe and unsubscribe yourself anytime you wish under certain circumstances (see below). This does not mean that it is a free for all. The list administrator can still take steps to ensure that individuals whose purpose is to cause mischief are prevented from joining.

The use of the mailing list is a privilege, not a right, which may be revoked at any time for violation of the rules. Such violation would include the posting of unlawful or illegal information, the use of abusive or otherwise objectionable language in either public or private messages; the sending of messages that are likely to result in the loss of recipients' work or systems; the sending of "chain letters", or "broadcast" messages to the list or individuals; religious discussions of any kind and; any other type of use which would cause congestion of the networks or otherwise interfere with the work of others.

Appealing

Suspended subscriber/s can appeal a suspension decision within seven (7) days of the official announcement via posting to the forum with a subject line of 'SUSPENSION APPEAL'. Appeals and responses shall be presented in three hundred (300) words or less. Only the suspendee can lodge an official appeal. All appeals exceeding three hundred (300) words will not be facilitated via the appeals process outlined. All appeals wherein the author is not the suspendee will not be facilitated via this appeal process. All appeals wherein the subject line digresses from that mentioned above will not be facilitated via the appeals process. Where an acceptable appeal is deemed to have been lodged, the administrator shall have seven (7) days from the official closing date to respond with a final decision. The final decision post appeal can take one of four (4) degrees: (a) the length of the suspension is upheld; (b) the suspension is fully and immediately revoked; (c) the length of the suspension is reduced; (d) the length of the suspension is increased; The length of the suspension shall remain at the discretion of the administrator.

Subscribing

Due to the problems we have experienced in the past with unscrupulous individuals utilizing free email addresses to make mischief on leonenet, we have had to revise our subscription policy. The principle behind the new subscription policy is that of proper identification, i.e. you have to prove that you really who you say you are.

To this effect, all aspiring leonenet members will need some sort of approval from the administrator to become members. In other words, the new list now has a closed subscription system. We understand, however, that this may place an inordinate burden on the list administrators (us!!), and may result in delays in people becoming subscribed.

Subscription can be done in one of two ways:

Sponsorship

By getting a current member of leonenet to "sponsor" them. To do so, the sponsor must send an email to the list administrator identifying themselves and the individual they would like to sponsor as a new member. Thus, if the new member decides to cause mischief some time later by making libelous or abusive comments, the aggrieved parties can hold someone responsible, i.e. the sponsor. Note that the sponsor's name will be kept for future records.
Email from non-free email address

An aspiring user who has a non-free email address (such as work email address) may send an e-mail to the administrator from that address asking to be subscribed as a member using their free email address. Again, both email addresses will be recorded for future records.

We regret that we have to take such steps; however, most well-minded users will agree that these steps are necessary to curb the free-for-all incidents of slander, abuse and libel that used to take place on leonenet.

The List Administrator has the sole right to remove anyone on the list. This will be done when someone either repeatedly contravenes the etiquette of the net, or continuously sends mail that is irrelevant to Sierra Leone or Sierra Leoneans.

Digests

Leonenet now has a digest functionality. This means that instead of having leonenet messages stream in during the day, they can be delivered in a single message. This will be useful to members who do not wish to be distracted by messages during the day. They can receive all the messages lumped together in a single digest at the end of the day.

Volume on Leonenet

Leonenet has no political, religious, or economic affiliation, and draws its strength from the diversity of opinions expressed by its members, thus reflecting the full make-up of Sierra Leoneans. Leonenet takes pride in the level of discussion that occurs on the network. However, with over 300 subscribers, the volume of mail on the net can be quite high.

Contacting the Administrator

The administrators can be reached at leoneadm@umbc.edu.

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