<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
There have been many recent posts on the issues of:
 
(a) to what extent our list should go beyond the 'dry facts' about Celiac
Disease, and
(b) how to improve the organization of our posts so that busy subscribers can
navigate through them.
 
Every internet discussion list is supposed to have a 'purpose' statement, and
ours has not changed since its inception on November 3, 1994:
 
* CELIAC is an open, unmoderated discussion list for those interested in
* Celiac Disease (Coeliac Sprue), dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten
* intolerance, wheat allergy, and co-incident intolerances, such as casein
* or lactose intolerance.
*
* The discussions include the latest scientific research (written for the
* layperson); information on what food is gluten free and what is not; tips
* on how to eat out of the house, how to cope issues, including coping with
* the developmental delays and behavioral changes sometimes brought on or
* aggravated by gluten (Autism, Asperger's, Attention Deficit, etc.);
* recipes and tips on how to cook; and where to find gluten free food by
* mail-order.
 
We SHOULD have fun on our list, we should feel free to express our feelings
(but no flames!).  It is tough to cope with a GF diet, to negotiate with
difficult food companies, to be condescended to by relatives and restaurant
staff, etc.
 
However, our posts should be about Celiac, not simply any little interesting
tidbit that might brighten our day.  Otherwise, our list will lose its whole
focus!
 
The Celiac list has been tremendously benefited by the input it has received
from the clinicians and researchers who have volunteered many hours writing
replies and helping the listowners review the specialized files, such as the
FAQ.  Some of these professionals in the celiac field, and many celiacs
themselves, write to the listowners that they find it very difficult to process
the many posts on our list.  Yes, with better subject headers the volume is
more easier dealt with, but nevertheless it can be appear to be a burden to
page through dozens of new posts every day.  We would hate to lose those of our
subscribers who are too busy to read through posts which are unrelated to
Celiac.
 
The listowners doubt that it is practical to impose a requirement that each
post be coded with an initial to signify its content.  It is hard enough to get
people to use the /R code for recipes, and this is the only code we ask of
people.  Most of the benefit of this coding can be accomplished if everyone
takes the time to compose an accurate subject header for their posts.
 
Finally, in response to the posts about newsgroups, this is an area at which we
continue to look.  We still have not found a satisfactory way around this
dilemma -- if anyone can read the celiac posts (via newsreaders) without first
subscribing and getting the welcome message, how will they understand the
medical limitations of an unmoderated list, and how will they find out about
all the specialized files we have available?  Any ideas are appreciated, but
please send them privately to the listowners at cel
[log in to unmask]  and not to the entire list.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bill Elkus
for the Listowners