1. Be nice. Even though this is not primarily a support group, some of our members are ill, worried, and may be having a hard time.
2. Tell us who you are. If you are comfortable doing so, write a few paragraphs to introduce yourself when you join the group. Reintroduce yourself once in a while. If you have a website, put a link to it in your signature line.
3. Don't make us wear out our scroll wheels. When responding to a message, repeat only the parts of the message you are writing about. Otherwise, we'll be inundated with duplicate messages, and we'll have to scroll, scroll, and scroll to figure out what you are talking about.
4. Keep subject lines current. If you change the topic in your reply to a post, take a few seconds to change the subject line. Doing so makes the archives more useful and it helps the members who get digests.
5. Eschew prolixity. When you respond to several points in a complex message, post a separate reply for each point, giving each posting an appropriate subject line.
6. Minimize chit-chat. Please use private email for holiday greetings, get well messages, thank you notes, and other off-topic chit-chat.
7. Be persistent. If you don't get a response to a query, re-post it, mentioning that you didn't get a response the first (or second, or third) time.
8. Think like an editor. Take a few seconds to trim extraneous items from your postings, check your spelling, and look over your work before clicking the *send* button.
9. Don't shout. Using all-caps can be construed as SHOUTING. It often provokes hostile responses. Check Google for articles on other aspects of netiquette.
10. Don't advertise. Spam is abominable. On the other hand, we want to know where you are coming from, so feel free to put a link to your website in your signature line. Don't post company addresses, phone numbers, or fax numbers unless someone asks for them.
11. Don't offer medical advice. This is not a medical site, so don't provide, offer, or endorse medical advice. You can tell us what your Uncle Harry did, and what happened to him, but don't advise anyone to try the Uncle Harry  protocol. You can also post links pointing to relevant articles and abstracts. All members are strongly encouraged to seek medical advice from their health care providers.
12. Don't be gullible. Don't assume that what you read here is more valid than what you hear around the water cooler at work. Some members of this group know a lot about infections, inflammation, and cortisol; some members know very little. It's often hard to know which is which. Therefore, let me reiterate: Information⁄suggestions posted to this group should *not* be substitutes for professional medical care.
13. Don't get sued. Do not malign, bash, or disparage any physician, hospital, health care facility, or pharmaceutical company. You can say that Dr. X prescribed a medicine that nearly killed you, if he did, but don't say that Dr. X is incompetent or negligent. You can post links to relevant articles and abstracts.
14. Play by Yahoo's rules. To stay in operation, we need to abide by Yahoo's Terms of Service (http:⁄⁄docs.yahoo.com⁄info⁄terms⁄). Those terms require us to refrain from transmitting content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, or which invades another's privacy. The moderator will consider it his duty to reject or delete messages that are in violation of Yahoo's terms of service or of these guidelines.