At the August 22, 2011 Committee Meeting, the committee decided to communicate “rules” for the use of the mailing list “announcements@scout-troop6.org”. The committee discussed four rules which are listed below. Adherence to these rules is an important part of making/keeping announcements@scout-troop6.org a relevant tool for communication in the troop. Most people these days are bombarded by all sorts of email communication. If there is too much noise or chatter on the mailing list, then people unsubscribe, filter, or otherwise tune it out.

1. Please do not click “Reply” or “Reply All” when replying to an email sent to the mailing list. The “From” field in the email will make it appear as if the email came from a specific person, but a “Reply” or “Reply All” will send email back to the entire mailing list because the hidden “Reply To” field in the email header is set to announcements@scout-troop6.org.

Instead of clicking “Reply” or “Reply All”, please click “Forward” and then enter the name of the person whom you which to email.

2. A person sending email to announcements@scout-troop6.org should put their return email address in the email text itself, in order for #1 above to be convenient to the person replying. (See my example at the top and bottom of this email.)

3. Don’t use announcements@scout-troop6.org to send email to a known group of people. Once you have a known group of recipients (like a Patrol, attendees for a specific campout, or a specific Merit Badge Course), then create a group-specific mailing list on your local computer and just send the email to that group.

4. Discuss your ideas with the committee chair of that area before you send an email to the mailing list. In addition to the troop’s already planned activities, we have many members with many ideas, and at some point, the sheer number of opportunities becomes overwhelming and counter-productive.

So, for example, if you have discovered a new fundraising opportunity, don’t send it out immediately to announcements@scout-troop6.org. Instead, discuss it with the Fundraising Chairperson. The same goes for Camping ideas, Service Project ideas, Advancements, and Eagle Merit Badges opportunities. Here are the links on the T6 website to the core committee people and to the activity leaders -- so that you know who to contact.

http://www.scout-troop6.org/core_committee.html

http://www.scout-troop6.org/activity_leaders.html

If you have any questions, please contact the Troop 6 Committee Chairperson.