From listserv@bkhouse.cts.com Sun May 15 09:05:24 1994 Date: Sun, 15 May 94 00:53:14 PST From: Mailing List Processor To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Re: your ListSERV request "FAQ ORMED" Oriental Medicine Mailing List Frequently Asked Questions Written 4/14/94. Last update 5/1/94. [This FAQ is still very much under construction. It will eventually contain both administrative questions about the mailing list and some frequently asked questions about Oriental medicine in general. I'd say about two thirds of it is here. Below you will find administrative information, and a blurb about Oriental medicine such as you might find in an acupuncturist's office. As the list grows and develops, I will have a better idea what else has a place in this FAQ. Should you have suggestions, please feel free to email them to me at OrMed-Admin@bkhouse.cts.com. Norm.] Administrative Stuff: ===================== Just as a reminder, there is one basic rule that is applicable to any mailing list you may belong to: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER SEND PERSONAL MAIL (for me or anyone else) TO ORMED. The OrMed address is for group discussions of the Oriental Medicine. Please keep in mind that everything posted to OrMed goes out to many people all over the world, many of whom pay for their email and do not appreciate receiving someone else's personal mail. No matter how clever your response may be, if it is to one person only please use individual email to deliver it. General Information: ==================== This is a new list, and we really haven't had an opportunity to get a feel for what our subscriber group will look like. Already on the list are several nationally known writers in the field of Oriental Medicine, several acupuncturists, a few acupuncture students, and several people just interested in Oriental Medicine. So far the list membership is entirely from the USA, but we are very interested in getting members from other parts of the world and hearing their perspectives on the topic. Description of the list: I created the OrMed mailing list in May of 1994 to serve as a forum for those practicing, using or interested in Oriental Medicine. The purpose was and is to put together practitioners, researchers, lay people and patients for the exchange of ideas, questions, hopes, techniques and more. We hope that this list can positively contribute to the growth and development of Oriental Medicine in the West. This list is intended for the friendly, positive discussion of Oriental medicine. While disagreements and such will pop up from time to time, this list is meant to be a more peaceful place than the rather hostile environment of USENET newsgroups such as misc.health.alternative. Topics here may range over the entire area of Oriental medicine, but this is not the place to discuss Oriental medicine VS. Western medicine, or to shout "where's the study!?" in response to a treatment suggestion. We are here to talk *about* Oriental Medicine, not to critique the theory as a whole. I think you get the idea. The OrMed listserv is hosted on an Amiga 3000/25, via both SLIP and UUCP connections to the net, and functions under the mixed control of my own software and parts of the most recent release of Peti's Amiga Listserv software. It understands most, but not all, of the commands found in the listserv set. It certainly can handle all the important ones. (The major missing feature is file requests, but there are other ways to do that.) Addresses for the OrMed Mailing List: ====================================== PLEASE READ!!! 1) OrMed@bkhouse.cts.com - goes to everybody on the list. No changes here. 2) OrMed-request@bkhouse.cts.com - goes to the listserv robot and expects listserv commands to be in the message body. If the message does not have such commands (as will probably be the case for many new subscribers who haven't yet discovered that this is a listserv) a cheerful and helpful file will be mailed to you. 3) nkraft@bkhouse.cts.com or nkraft@ucsd.edu - these go to the same mailbox, eventually. Mail to these addresses goes to me. That's fine for chatting and responses to anything that I might post as a member of the list, but PLEASE SEND ALL ADMINISTRATIVE (NON-LISTSERV) MAIL TO OrMed-Admin@bkhouse.cts.com (below). 4) OrMed-Admin@bkhouse.cts.com - this is the correct address to use for inquiries that cannot be solved with the listserv. If you are having problems with your address, or have a general administrative question about the list, send it here. DO NOT SEND IT TO ORMED! 5) listserv@bkhouse.cts.com - this is the address that all listserv commands should be sent to. The address OrMed-Request is redirected here. The commands understood by the listserv are as follows: HELP Fetches a friendly, cheerful help file about how to use the listserv (at least I hope its friendly and cheerful, or at lease helpful). This should probably be the first command you send to listserv@bkhouse.cts.com. LIST [address] Lists all mailing lists to which the given address is subscribed. INDEX Lists all the lists available for subscription. I do run a few other mailing lists at this site. Most of them don't have much to do with computers or programming, but they might be interesting to some of you. It will take me a couple of weeks to get all the lists converted to using the listserv, so this command may not be all that illuminating for a while yet. SUBSCRIBE [address] listname UNSUBSCRIBE [address] listname This is how you join or resign from the OrMed Mailing List. Please get the syntax right: the software isn't very forgiving. For example: SUBSCRIBE Joe Smith OrMed will *not* get you on the list. SUBSCRIBE joe@abc.edu OrMed will get you on the list. SUBSCRIBE joe@abc.edu will get you on the list. SUBSCRIBE OrMed will also get you on the list. FAQ listname Sends the "Frequently Asked Questions" (if available) for the indicated mailing list. For example, "FAQ OrMed" returns the file you're reading now. A listserv command must be the first word on each line in the message. Generally, when mailing to the listserv, you can leave the Subject: header blank, as it is ignored. 6) postmaster@bkhouse.cts.com - this goes to the me again. I'm the sysadmin, postmaster, etc, of this site. If you need to get in touch with me, and the address you've chosen doesn't get an immediate response, please be patient. Sometimes it takes me a while to find the time to answer your question properly. If all else fails, you can call my voicemail at 619-526-0344, but it better be pretty darn important! Bounces--Keeping Track of Where You Are: ======================================== A "bounce" is mail that is not received by the recipient, and therefore gets returned to the sender. If the mail is being sent to you as part of the OrMed address, the "sender" is supposed to be set up so that such bounces go to me directly. They shouldn't go to you, but sometimes they do. I try to resolve these as quickly as possible. You can help by remembering to UNSUBSCRIBE when you are about to lose or change your account. You can always resubscribe later. The listserv that I use allows you to UNSUBSCRIBE from your new address, if necessary. Use the HELP command to find out how. Unfortunately, the single largest cause of bounces is not dead or changed accounts, it's machines (or routing servers) that are down or otherwise not accepting mail. Neither you nor I can do anything about this. Sometimes when a machine is in one of these fits, the bounce will say that the machine is okay but the user doesn't exist. Later, everything will get better. It's annoying, and it's why I don't remove list members with bounces for a week or so. Another reason I get bounces is an account that has exceeded its disk space allocation. If your mailbox is full, you can not receive any new mail. Archives ======== I do keep an archive of the OrMed list messages, but as yet I haven't decided what to do with them. When I come up with the best way to make them available to list members, I'll announce it on the list. Specific Questions About the Oriental Medicine Mailing List =========================================================== 1. There is too much traffic on this list to keep up. Yes, this has been a complaint at some time or another on many lists. If you haven't been a subscriber for very long, you might want to stay around a month or so before making a decision about leaving the list. As yet, I don't have any list posting statistics available, but if this list turns out like any of the other three I administer, it should settle down into some kind of rhythm in the first three months or so. You can help keep these problems from developing by following the posting guidelines that were sent to you when you subscribed to the list. Another copy is at the end of this file. 2. There is too little traffic on this list -- Am I even on the list? This could be caused by a down period in list traffic, or it could be the result of problems with your address. Stay with the list for a week or so and, if you still don't see any messages, let me know and I'll check out your address. I get this complaint fairly often on all the lists I run, and it is usually just a matter of waiting a few more days. 3. This group is useless to me because no one wants to talk about the things that I want to talk about. That could be because you haven't asked questions that would lead to the discussions that interest you. If your posts are not generating the responses you desire, try restating what you have said. If you have specific medical questions, always remember that this list is NOT a substitute for seeing a licensed health practitioner. Also, always be aware that the very nature of Oriental Medicine makes diagnosis difficult in the best of circumstances. It is impossible over the net. 4. This group is useless to me because the discussion is too technical, not technical enough, too regional, not to regional enough, create-your-own-problem-here. The level of discussion in any particular area will vary. If it seems too technical for you, just be honest and say so! We really do want you to benefit from using this list, and I hope that members would be happy to talk to you at an appropriate level. Conversely, if the discussions are not at a high enough level for you, please understand that not all of our members are professionals or well educated in the field. Keep track of the other members who are at your level, and try to involve them in your discussions, either publicly or privately. 5. What are the posting guidelines for messages, source and binaries? Okay, no one actually ever asks this question, but I wish they did! Anyway, here they are: Posting guidelines 1. Try to keep in mind that your posts to the list go out to many people, located around the world. Many of our subscribers pay for their email services, and international email is, in general, an expensive enterprise for someone along the line, even if not for the end user. If your posting is of a personal nature, or is part of a discussion with just one or two list members, consider using private email to continue the dialog. Always be aware that what you post to the list should be of interest to the majority of list members. 2. Stay on topic! This list is for the discussion of Oriental Medicine. 3. Please try to be polite in both your posts and your responses. Flaming will not be tolerated and can get a member removed from the list in a hurry. It has no place in a forum such as this one. 4. If you choose to reply to a list message, be sure to trim quoted text as much as possible. Again, this is a matter of courtesy as both members who pay for mail by the character and those who read it over slow modem connections do not appreciate 100 lines of quoted text for a three line reply. (Those of us reading it over fast connections don't appreciate it much, either.) 5. Finally, remember that this list is moderated (by me). I don't generally get involved in a heavy-handed way, but those who consistently violate the basic rule of "be considerate" may receive warnings from me, or even be removed from the list. I also reserve the right to reject any posting which is clearly not appropriate. Such a rejection will always result in a message to the list stating the action and the reason for doing so. Oriental Medicine Questions: ============================ [These questions will be filled out as I have time to write them. Please be patient.] 1. What is Oriental Medicine? Oriental medicine is a very broad term covering the traditional medicines of China, Korea, Japan, Viet Nam, Tibet, and other Asian and Oriental countries. In general, the techniques of Oriental medicine are acupuncture, moxibustion, herbology, massage, breath work and exercise. There are other techniques that practitioners may use, as well, such as cupping and scraping. To find out more about Oriental medicine in general, I would recommend two books, both of which are widely available: "Between Heaven and Earth" by Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold "The Web That Has No Weaver" by Ted Kaptchuk. 2. What is acupuncture? 3. What's the story on Chinese herbs? 4. What about Chinese herbal patent formulas? 5. How does acupuncture work? 6. Is there research to back up the use of acupuncture? 7. What should I expect during a treatment? 8. Is acupuncture safe? 9. How many treatments are necessary? 10. What sort of conditions are acupuncture and Chinese herbs good for? 11. Where can I get more information about Oriental Medicine? Finally: ======== Of course, if this list really isn't what you had hoped it would be, you can always unsubscribe. We'll miss you, though. I hope that this list can be a good environment for the discussion of Oriental Medicine, without the needless flamage of groups such as misc.health.alternative. You can help reach that goal by contributing to the list, following the posting guidelines and remembering that this list is a family, not a town square. I wish you the best of health and happiness. Norm. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The OrMed Mailing List Subscription requests: send a message Administrator: Norman Kraft containing "SUBSCRIBE [address] OrMed" OrMed-admin@bkhouse.cts.com or to listserv@bkhouse.cts.com. nkraft@bkhouse.cts.com Post messages to: OrMed@bkhouse.cts.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------