You CAN discuss
training and trialing border collies
health and nutrition matters directly relating to border collies
the genetics of the working border collie
livestock and farming issues
USBCHA and ABCA policies
political matters of direct interest to the working border collie community
books and videos pertaining to working sheepdogs
philosophical and cultural issues relevant to those interested in working stock dogs
You CAN post
running orders
trial results
clinic announcements
new product announcements of books, DVDs, and other products of direct interest to the working border collie community (e.g., lanyards, crooks, sheepdog whistles)
reviews of books, videos, and clinics
announcements of new web sites aimed specifically at the working border collie community
criticisms of the IDEAS of other Sheepdog-L members (as opposed to attacks on those members themselves)
You CAN’T post
Anything that would benefit the American Kennel Club (AKC) in any way, including information about AKC-registered dogs and AKC events.
litter announcements
announcements of dogs for sale
advertisements of stud dogs
announcements of any products or items for sale that are NOT of specific and direct interest to the working border collie community (e.g., dog food, dog toys).
outright personal attacks (“flames”) regarding other members of sheepdog-l
chain email, “uplifting” poetry not directly related to sheepdogs, or anything that would NOT be of interest only to those of us who think that it’s fun to mess around with dogs and sheep in a muddy field for hours on end
attachments (which will be stripped automatically from your posts)
Posts of the "Me, too!" and "I agree!" variety. Add an additional thought or send it privately.
Please note that hitting “reply” to a Sheepdog-L post will send the message to the list. Although we moderate messages and will find most errant private posts, please be careful in case we’re asleep at the switch. If you want to send a private reply to someone, you’ll need to copy and paste their address into your email client.
THE THREE IRON-CLAD COMMANDMENTS OF SHEEPDOG-L
Don’t EVER post in order to squelch a conversation that you’re finding personally dull. Would you walk into a bar, decide that the conversation of the people sitting next to you isn’t very interesting, wheel around, and tell them to stop talking? Such behavior is rude in real life, and it’s just as rude in virtual life. Don’t do it.
Don’t confuse strongly-worded criticism of someone else’s ideas with FLAMING. A FLAME is a personal attack (e. g., “John, you’re a moron and your dogs are too weak to move a flock of hummingbirds”). Such a post is UNACCEPTABLE on Sheepdog-L. A post, on the other hand, that said “John, the post you just wrote arguing that blue-eyed dogs communicate telepathically with sheep in late summer was really ridiculous” *is* acceptable on Sheepdog-L, although posters should be cautioned to be courteous to one another.
Have fun with this list, and use it as a tool to promote the miraculous working border collie that we all love and respect so much.
SHEEPDOG-L OFFSHOOTS
Sheepdog-L is a Yahoo list, and as such contains space for files, photos, and databases. Feel free to make use of any of these. Files will be removed as they become outdated or if they are inappropriate. Please make every effort to follow the folder structure that you find there.
Sheepdog.com, the official web site of Sheepdog-L, is a blog that gathers news from the sheepdog community and posts it into an easy-to-digest format.