Purpose

Guidelines

1. Each list must conform to the University's Computer Usage Policy which states, in part:

   " Computers, networks and electronic information systems are essential resources for accomplishing the University of Minnesota's mission of instruction, research, and service outreach. The University grants members of the University community shared access to these resources in support of accomplishing the University's mission. These resources are a valuable community asset to be used and managed responsibly to ensure their integrity, security, and availability for appropriate educational and business activities. All authorized users of these resources are required to use them in an effective, efficient, and responsible manner. "

2. The list request must come from a faculty member, a staff member or a student representing a registered student organization.

3. Each list should have at least one owner who is a member of the University community. If the primary owner is a student, the list should have at least one additional owner who is a faculty or staff member.
4. The primary owner of a list is responsible for day-to-day monitoring and operation of the list. This includes, but is not limited to:
   • deleting subscribers whose addresses are no longer valid;
   • serving as the initial point of contact for subscribers with questions or problems; and,
   • dealing with any social problems which may arise on the list.

   The primary owner may authorize other individuals to act as owners, editors, or moderators of the list.

5. In most cases, a list owner should not add a subscriber to a list without the subscriber's prior knowledge and consent, and should comply immediately with a request from a subscriber to be removed from a list.

   Faculty members or University departments may create and use lists which include students in a particular class, students in a particular major, staff in a particular department, etc. In cases such as these, subscribers may be added without their prior knowledge or consent, and requests to be removed from the list need not be honored by the list owner.

6. Lists may not be used:
   • for unsolicited mass mailings;
   • to promote commercial products, services, or organizations; or
   • for purposes which violate University policies, local ordinances, or state or federal laws.
7. When a list is no longer needed, the list owner should notify the list server administrator and request that the list be deleted.
8. The list server administrator may impose restrictions on the operation of a list, in order to ensure that the use of the list does not adversely affect other lists or services.