Subject: New List Announcement: WomBAT
From: [email-masked] (Julie Waters)
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1996 17:04:30 -0400

Feel free to distribute this notice far and wide.

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To subscribe to Wombat, send the command SUBSCRIBE Wombat Your Name to
[email-masked]

Posts to the list go to [email-masked]

Any other questions can be directed to [email-masked]

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The WomBAT info URL is:

        http://drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu/~julie/wombat.html

It contains all the info listed below, plus some good links

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                       Womyn of Beauty And Temptation

WomBAT is an e-mail list specifically for bisexual womyn, but any womyn is
allowed to join. No one will be denied membership solely on the basis of
sexual orientation. Nor will we quibble about the definition of the word
"womyn." We are not in the business of deciding who is and who is not a
womyn, and no one on this list is qualified to make such a determination
about anyone but themselves. Simply put, for the purposes of this list, if
you consider yourself to be a womyn, and live your life in a manner
consistent with that, that's good enough for us. We will take your word for
it unless given reason to do otherwise.

The rules are not difficult to follow for most people, though some may find
them impossible. This is not the only list for bisexual womyn, and if you
can't follow these rules, you may wish to look elsewhere. But, if you can
tolerate them, here they are:

  1. Think of this list as though you have been invited into somebody's home
     for dinner one night. If you are new to the list, assume that it is
     someone you do not know very well. Before you post, ask yourself
     whether or not what you're saying is something that would be
     appropriate in such a setting. If you are new to the list, you will
     most likely get a feel for what is and is not accepted after a few
     days. Either way, act accordingly.

  2. While debate and discussion is actively encouraged, flames are not.
     Flames, quite specifically, are posts which attack somebody on a
     personal level. They are not the equivalent of disagreeing with
     somebody very strongly. They are, instead, disagreeing with somebody to
     the point at which the person is attacked instead of their viewpoint.
     An example of a flame might be to, in the course of a a discussion of
     whether or not vegetarianism is a good thing, tell someone she is going
     to hell for having eaten meat. In addition, making psychological
     assessments of a list member's alleged pathology is entirely
     unacceptable.

  3. Remember also that this list is only semi-private. It is impossible to
     check every e-mail address to insure that no men have joined the list.
     E-mail can be enough of an anonymous medium that it would be extremely
     difficult to trace from where much e-mail originates. So if you are
     absolutely adamant that no man ever read what you post here, you'll
     simply have to never post here. There is nothing more that can be done
     about this. Furthermore, it would be greatly appreciated if you not
     post that you believe someone who has joined the list to be a man. Such
     posts can be very traumatic to new list members, and discourage them
     from ever posting again and make other list members paranoid. Instead,
     it is best to e-mail the list owner and inform her of the situation and
     let her handle it as best as she sees fit.

  4. However, while this list is only semi-private, it is still intended to
     be private. To forward mail from WomBAT list to another mailinglist or
     individual (even in quoted responses) without permission of the
     original poster is not to be tolerated without an extremely good
     reason.

  5. If you are not receiving mail from the list do not post something to
     the list saying "why am I not receiving any mail?" Instead, direct such
     questions to:

                     [email-masked]

  6. Finally, this list is primarily for enjoyment. Please do not take it
     too seriously. At the same time, while fluff can be entertaining,
     please recall that others have limited disk space and some people have
     to pay to download their electronic mail. Most things which are great
     in moderation can become a problem when taken to the extreme. Posting
     five very witty one-liners can do a lot to ease tension. Posting thirty
     will most likely increase it dramatically. Along the same lines, please
     do not quote thirty or more lines of a message, only to say "I agree."
     Try to insure that you post at the very minimum, one third of the
     number of lines in new material in response to any messages you might
     quote.

To subscribe to WomBAT, send the command:

                         SUBSCRIBE WomBAT your name

To:

                          [email-masked]

To ask questions about the list, please direct your questions to:

                       [email-masked]

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WomBAT is maintained by the following individuals. Feel free to check out
their home pages or let them know how much you appreciate their efforts:

   * Tina Mancuso:  http://daniel.drew.edu/~tmancuso/index.html
   * Kate O'Neill:  http://www.uic.edu/~kate/
   * Julie Waters:  http://drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu/~julie