Usage Guidelines for MEDLAB-L

Interview in "Listserv At Work"
This page and its links simulate an abbreviated welcome message and guidelines that new subscribers receive.

MEDLAB-L is a mailing list that uses Listserv® software, a registered trademark of L-Soft.

Below are a few guidelines and commands regarding your new list. PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY AND KEEP A COPY.

If you are with a vendor of lab supplies or equipment, a job recruitment firm, a company that provides an internet-based scanning service for health professionals, a firm that conducts surveys, or an organization that has a journal or newsletter, please see PRECAUTIONS at the end of this message.

Best regards, Pat

Introduction to New Members

You are a subscriber to MEDLAB-L, an Internet mailing list for medical laboratory professionals in all disciplines.

The mailing list has two very different addresses LISTSERV@ and MEDLAB-L@. 

The LISTSERV address  listserv@listserv.buffalo.edu

is for commands to the computer program that controls your subscription options, e.g., 

subscribe MEDLAB-L Your Real Name

(e.g., subscribe MEDLAB-L Pat Letendre)

signoff MEDLAB-L

The MEDLAB-L address MEDLAB-L@listserv.buffalo.edu

is to post messages to everyone on the list.

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AIMS of MEDLAB-L

Please use the list for non-commercial purposes. Its objectives are to provide a forum for people associated with medical and related laboratories to share ideas and experiences, discuss mutual problems, offer advice, promote continuing education, and talk with international colleagues.

MEDLAB-L has a 'no advertisement' policy. The only advertisements that are allowed are for continuing education conferences and courses, as well as for job announcements made by private individuals (NOT job recruiters). For CE or job postings, send a short announcement and let interested subscribers know where they can get more information.

NETIQUETTE

For important advice on using the list, see netiquette.

COMMANDS

For listserv commands to control your subscription, see commands.

ARCHIVE SEARCHING

To search list archives, see database searches . Only subscribers have access.

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PRECAUTIONS

FOR SUBSCRIBERS WHO REPRESENT COMPANIES THAT SELL GOODS OR SERVICES OF ANY KIND RELATED TO MEDICAL LABORATORIES

You are a valuable contributor to MEDLAB-L and we welcome your participation. Please read and follow these guidelines on advertising, commercial use of the list, and disclosure of vested interest.

ADDRESS HARVESTING
Harvesting addresses from MEDLAB-L subscribers for the purpose of sending mass commercial mailouts of any type is strictly prohibited and grounds for being banned from the list.

DISCLOSURE
Just as journals have policies for authors to disclose conflict of interest or vested interest or competing interest, it is MEDLAB-L's policy for similar guidelines to be applied when sales and service
representatives, and others with commercial ties, post to the list. When mentioning commercial products and services, you must provide your company affiliation in a signature.

To explore this issue further, see

INFORMATION MINING
If you are with a company that provides an information mining or scanning service or that sells list archives, you are NOT welcome to the list. The authors of the messages sent to MEDLAB-L own the copyright to their words. Others are not entitled to reproduce these words without permission and, especially, are not entitled to sell them.

SURVEYS
If your business or association conducts surveys and publishes them in newsletters, you may send one message to the list regarding a particular survey, providing it directly relates to clinical laboratories and would interest subscribers. No follow-ups are allowed. The survey must be conducted on the WWW. Post a brief message that explains the survey and directs subscribers to the website. The listowner reserves the right to limit the number of survey announcements from a given source.

RECRUITERS
List policy prohibits sending job advertisements from recruiting firms to the list. Contact me privately to discuss potential alternatives.

PUBLISHERS
If you are with a publisher or a professional organization that has a journal or newsletter and you wish to publish information that appears on MEDLAB-L, please contact authors privately to request their permission. When published, MEDLAB-L should be credited as the original source.

ADVERTISING
Because the list is non-commercial and hosted by a university, using our facilities for direct advertising of products and services is clearly inappropriate. However, it is acceptable to respond to specific questions asked by subscribers about products and services that your company supplies; and to promote continuing education opportunities.

Do not send unsolicited advertisements of commercial products and services to the group or to individual members, or otherwise use the list as a source of potential clients for conducting business with your company. Such practices result in removal from the list and give companies a bad reputation.

I welcome your comments and feedback in devising a workable and fair policy for MEDLAB-L and rely on you to use your judgement in co-operating with these guidelines.

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