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VRA-L Mission Statement and Listserv Rules
Please read the following Rules for Posting Messages to VRA-L, as authorized by the Executive Board of the Visual Resources Association.

I. VRA-L Listserv mission

VRA-L is intended primarily to expedite communication among VRA members and professionals in related disciplines on important issues related to the association, to visual resources curatorship, to related technologies, and to the profession. Although subscription to VRA-L is open only to VRA members in good standing, appropriate postings from VRA non-members are welcome.

II. Rules for posting to VRA-L
  1. Who May Submit Messages to the Listserv: VRA-L only posts messages from
    VRA members or VRA-L subscribers. Membership information can be found at
    our Web site: http://vraweb.org/membership.html
  2. The Prime Consideration for Those Submitting Messages: Please do not submit messages to VRA-L unless you are reasonably certain your message is of sufficient professional concern to a group of VRA-L subscribers--or that a reply would be of sufficient professional service to yourself--that it warrants delivery to the 900-plus subscribers of the listserv.
  3. Submission Requirements: Each submission must contain the following:
    1. A substantive question, comment, or information which meets the description of an "Appropriate Submission" as described below.
    2. The submitter's full name, institutional or professional affiliation, and email address at the end of the message.
  4. Appropriate Submissions: Postings about substantive issues covering the gamut of visual resources curatorship and which are relevant to at least a subset of the membership are generally appropriate, except as described below.
  5. Inappropriate Submissions: The following types of submissions are considered inappropriate:
    1. Commercial advertisements (SPAMs) or solicitations
    2. Topics generally irrelevant to the visual resources community
    3. Personal communications between individuals
    4. Any attachments whatsoever
    5. Replies to individuals' requests for information which is obviously not of significant interest to the membership at large
    6. Personal criticism of individuals or even substantive contributions which violate professional comity
    7. vii. Personal or confidential information about others
    8. Messages whose content, were it posted, might present legal problems for the VRA or subscribers
    9. Messages of inconsequential or non-substantive content, such as merely posting "I agree" without contributing substantively to the discussion. (Such replies should be sent directly to the author of the original message.)
    10. Messages devoted solely to humor or light conversation.
  6. Attachments and Long Messages: Exceptionally long messages (i.e. many pages in length) are discouraged because they cause problems for some subscribers with limited email storage. Persons wishing to share large documents, such as term lists or catalogs, should instead announce that interested individuals may request the material directly from the person making the offer, and the document(s) should then be sent directly to the interested parties' email addresses, not via VRA-L.
    Attachments of any kind are not permitted due to the risk of transmitting computer viruses. The VRA-L software automatically rejects attachments, and may reject certain signature files which "look like" attachments to the software. If, by some chance, an attachment should accidentally go through, subscribers are advised to open them at their own risk.
  7. Replies to Requests for Specific Information: Replies to online surveys or to requests for an isolated bit of information for one's own need should be sent directly to the inquirer, NOT the entire listserv. When appropriate, the inquirer can later post a single summary of multiple responses to the listserv.
  8. Decorum: Messages posted to VRA-L must be civil and professional in tone. Communication via VRA-L cannot provide the same freedom of expression as would be possible in a private conversation among confidants.
  9. Liability: Neither the Visual Resources Association, the VRA-L manager, nor the administrators of the listserv's host site can verify the content of postings for accuracy or be held accountable for message content. Parties submitting messages to VRA-L bear sole responsibility and liability for the content of their postings.
  10. Sanctions: Egregious disregard of VRA-L rules may ultimately result in revocation of the offender's VRA-L subscription by the VRA Executive Board.

III. Questions

Please do not hesitate to contact the VRA-L Listserv Manager with any questions or problems you might have:

Liz Edgar Hernandez
Membership Services Coordinator
VRA Membership Services
4201 Wilson Blvd., #110-331
Arlington, VA 22203-1589
202-422-4876
join@vraweb.org