Sample "rejection letters"
It is important that users receive a clear reason why their message is being rejected. This "rejection letter" should always be in neutral language to avoid insulting or antagonizing anyone. If you have suggestions or other "common" rejections, please add them as a comment below...
Always Offer to Publish Edited Post
It is important that the moderator always offer to publish the message if the user edits and re-sends it. Thus, all "rejections letters" should include a phrase like:
Please edit and re-submit your message so I can forward it to the list readers. We are not in any way trying to censor your opinion, we are simply trying to ensure the list remains an accessible, useful source of quality information for its subscribers.
Best Practices and Guidelines can be viewed at: http://lists.lasqueti.ca
Common Rejection Reasons
Missing or Irrelevant Subject Line
Your message was missing a meaningful subject line. The e-mail subject is used by the mail list software to create the "table of contents" for the daily digest. Many readers simply scan this topic list, so your message may go unread without a meaningful subject. Please re-send your message with the "Subject" field on the e-mail filled with a meaningful topic for your post.
Irrelevant "Reply Quotes" or Long "signatures"
Your message was followed by a long, irrelevant "reply quote" or "signature". We don't have the ability to edit messages sent to the list, and so need to request that you re-send this message without the block of irrelevant text. Feedback from list subscribers strongly indicates that such blocks make the list confusing and hard to read, so your assistance here is greatly appreciated.
Long-winded Message or Text Pasted from Online Article
We are reluctant to send this message out as-is - it is very long, and so likely to swamp other shorter notices in the digest. We hope you would consider posting the entire article on lasqueti.ca (say as a blog post) and then send a summary with a link to the article to the list? If you don't have an account yet, you can register for free here: http://lasqueti.ca/user/register
Sorry for the hassle, but feedback from list subscribers indicates that long articles cause a "trash button" response. We are not attempting to censor anything here... just trying to strike a balance.
Inappropriate Language
We have a feeling that some list subscribers may find this post overly aggressive / rude. Our goal is not to censor your opinion, but we do need to consider that list members may unsubscribe if they find the tone on the list offensive. Since reducing the list audience diminishes its usefulness, we need to balance these two concerns. Please consider re-wording your message using more neutral language, and re-submit it so we can send it out to the list.
Potentially Defamatory Remarks
Your message was flagged because we felt it could be considered defamatory. We define defamatory as "Any disparaging statement made by one person about another - a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual or group a negative image (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slander_and_libel). Please understand that we are not lawyers, and cannot make any fine distinctions on these matters. We have an obligation to the list readers to block anything that could be considered defamatory, and err on the side of caution in this respect. Please consider re-wording your message to avoid making unproven allegations or specious claims, and re-submit it so we can send it out to the list.
Request for "Lasqueti Connection"
The Lasqueti e-mail list is restricted to folks with a Lasqueti connection, as a basic safeguard for those who send messages to the list. I'm sorry we didn't recognize your name and didn't find you in the phone book - would you be so kind as to provide us with a Lasqueti connection so we can approve your subscription request?
