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<p><a name="users-list"></a>
The <b>mod_perl users mailing list</b> is available for
mod_perl users and developers to share ideas, solve problems and discuss
- things related to mod_perl and the <CODE>Apache::*</CODE> modules.
+ things related to mod_perl and the <CODE>Apache::*</CODE> modules. Please
read
+ the mailing list <a href="email-etiquette.html">Guidelines</a> before
posting.
<br>
</p>
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@@ -461,7 +461,8 @@
<p><a name="users-list"></a>
The <b>mod_perl users mailing list</b> is available for
mod_perl users and developers to share ideas, solve problems and discuss
- things related to mod_perl and the <CODE>Apache::*</CODE> modules.
+ things related to mod_perl and the <CODE>Apache::*</CODE> modules. Please
read
+ the mailing list <a href="email-etiquette.html">Guidelines</a> before
posting.
<br>
</p>
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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>The mod_perl Mailing List Guidelines</TITLE>
<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]";>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<!-- INDEX BEGIN -->
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#The_mod_perl_Mailing_List_Guidel">The mod_perl Mailing List
Guidelines</A>
<LI><A HREF="#What_is_mod_perl_">What is mod_perl?</A>
<LI><A HREF="#What_you_need_to_know_to_be_able">What you need to know to be
able to use mod_perl</A>
<LI><A HREF="#How_To_Get_Help_With_mod_perl_It">How To Get Help With mod_perl
Itself</A>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#Documentation_which_comes_with_t">Documentation which
comes with the distribution</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Other_documentation">Other documentation</A>
</UL>
<LI><A HREF="#How_to_get_on_and_off_the_mod">How to get on (and off!) the
mod_perl mailing list</A>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#To_Get_On_The_List">To Get On The List</A>
<LI><A HREF="#To_Get_Off_The_List">To Get Off The List</A>
</UL>
<LI><A HREF="#To_post_to_the_List">To post to the List</A>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#Private_Mail">Private Mail</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Other_Tips">Other Tips</A>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#Read_The_Documentation">Read The
Documentation</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Give_Full_Information">Give Full Information</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Error_Messages">Error Messages</A>
<LI><A HREF="#The_Subject_Line">The Subject Line</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Preserve_The_Threads">Preserve The Threads</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Post_in_PLAIN_TEXT">Post in PLAIN TEXT</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Time_and_Bandwidth">Time and Bandwidth</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Tags">Tags</A>
<LI><A HREF="#If_You_Don_t_Get_a_Reply">If You Don't Get a
Reply</A>
<LI><A HREF="#If_You_Don_t_Understand_a_Reply">If You Don't
Understand a Reply</A>
<LI><A HREF="#General_Perl_and_Apache_question">General Perl
and Apache questions</A>
</UL>
</UL>
<LI><A HREF="#Replying_to_posts">Replying to posts</A>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#The_Subject_line">The "Subject:" line</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Extracts_From_Other_Posts">Extracts From Other Posts</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Unnecessary_Duplication">Unnecessary Duplication</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Private_replies">Private replies</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Flames">Flames</A>
</UL>
<LI><A HREF="#The_mod_perl_Guide">The mod_perl Guide</A>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#Finding_the_Guide">Finding the Guide</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Corrections_And_Contributions">Corrections And
Contributions</A>
</UL>
</UL>
<!-- INDEX END -->
<HR>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="The_mod_perl_Mailing_List_Guidel">The mod_perl Mailing List
Guidelines</A></H1>
<!--
email-etiquette: This version dated 21 October 2001.
Please make changes to the .pod source and use pod2html to
create the .html file, thanks. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-->
<P>
Ninety percent of the questions asked on the List have already been asked
before, and answers will be found at one of the links below. Before you
post to the mod_perl List, please read the following. Hopefully it will
save you (and everyone else) some time.
<P>
Except where noted the language of all documents is English.
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="What_is_mod_perl_">What is mod_perl?</A></H1>
<P>
<A
HREF="http://perl.apache.org/guide/intro.html#What_is_mod_perl";>http://perl.apache.org/guide/intro.html#What_is_mod_perl</A>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="What_you_need_to_know_to_be_able">What you need to know to be able to
use mod_perl</A></H1>
<P>
You need to know about Apache, CGI and of course about Perl itself. This
document explains where to find more information about these and related
topics.
<P>
If you already have Perl on your machine then it's likely that you already
have all the Perl documentation. Try typing `perldoc perldoc' and `man
perl'.
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="How_To_Get_Help_With_mod_perl_It">How To Get Help With mod_perl
Itself</A></H1>
<P>
<A HREF="http://perl.apache.org/";>http://perl.apache.org/</A> is the
mod_perl home, it has links for everything related to mod_perl.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Documentation_which_comes_with_t">Documentation which comes with the
distribution</A></H2>
<P>
Read the documents which came with mod_perl, particularly the ones named
INSTALL, README and SUPPORT. Also read the documents to which they refer.
Read all the relevant documentation about your operating system, any tools
you use such as compilers and databases, and about the Apache Web server.
<P>
You will get a much better response from the mod_perl List if you can show
that you have made the effort of reading the documentation.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Other_documentation">Other documentation</A></H2>
<P>
There are dozens of references to many authoritative resources at
<P>
<A
HREF="http://perl.apache.org/guide/help.html";>http://perl.apache.org/guide/help.html</A>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="How_to_get_on_and_off_the_mod">How to get on (and off!) the mod_perl
mailing list</A></H1>
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="To_Get_On_The_List">To Get On The List</A></H2>
<P>
There are two stages to getting on the list. Firstly you have to send a
mail message to: <A
HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]";>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
and wait for receiving a response from the mail server with instructions to
proceed.
<P>
Secondly you have to do what it says in the instructions. After you are
subscribed you will receive a messsage with lots of useful information
about the List. Read it. Print it, even. Save a copy of it. You *can* get
another copy of it, but then you'll feel silly.
<P>
Traffic on the mod_perl list can be high at times, several hundred posts
per week, so you might want to consider subscribing to the mod_perl digest
list as an alternative to the mod_perl list. To do so, send an email to <A
HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]";>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
instead.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="To_Get_Off_The_List">To Get Off The List</A></H2>
<P>
Instructions on how to unsubscribe are posted in the headers of every
message which you receive from the List. All you have to do is send a
message to: <A
HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]";>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
(or <A
HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]";>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
if you are on the digest list)
<P>
To prevent malicious individuals from unsubscribing other people, the
mailing list software insists that the message requesting that an email
address be unsubscribed comes from that same address. If your email address
has changed you can still unsubscribe, but you will need to read the help
document, which can be recieved by sending an empty email to: <A
HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]";>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="To_post_to_the_List">To post to the List</A></H1>
<P>
<EM>Posting</EM> to the list is just sending a message to the address which you will
be
given after you subscribe.
<P>
Your message will not be accepted unless you have first
<A HREF="#To_Get_On_The_List">subscribed</A>.
<P>
Do not post to <A
HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED],";>[EMAIL PROTECTED],</A>
except to subscribe to the list! Please do not post to the list itself to
attempt to unsubscribe from it.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Private_Mail">Private Mail</A></H2>
<P>
Please do not send private mail to list members unless it is invited. Even
if they have answered your question on the list, you should continue the
discussion on the list.
<P>
On the other hand, if someone replies to you personally, you shouldn't
forward the reply to the list unless you have received permission from this
person.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Other_Tips">Other Tips</A></H2>
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Read_The_Documentation">Read The Documentation</A></H3>
<P>
Please read as much of the documentation as you can before posting. Please
also try to see if your question has been asked recently, there are links
to searchable archives of the list on the mod_perl home page <A
HREF="http://perl.apache.org/.";>http://perl.apache.org/.</A>
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Give_Full_Information">Give Full Information</A></H3>
<P>
Don't forget that the people reading the list have no idea even what
operating system your computer runs unless you tell them. When reporting
problems include at least the information requested in the document
entitled <EM>SUPPORT</EM> which you will find in the mod_perl source distribution.
<P>
You can find many excellent examples of posts with good supporting
information by looking at the mod_perl mailing list archives. There are
URLs for several archives (with several different search engines) on the
mod_perl home page. Followup posts will show you how easy the writer made
it for the person who replied to deduce the problem and to suggest a way of
solving it, or to find some further item information.
<P>
If after reading the <EM>SUPPORT</EM> document you think that more information is
needed for your particular
problem, but you still don't know what information to give, ask on the list
rather than sending long scripts and configuration files which few people
will have the time to read.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Error_Messages">Error Messages</A></H3>
<P>
If you include error messages in your post, make sure that they are EXACTLY
the messages which you saw. Use a text editor to transfer them directly
into your message if you can. Try not to say things like ``the computer
said something about not recognizing a command'' but instead to say
something like this:
<P>
``When logged in as root I typed the command:
<P>
<PRE> httpd -X
</PRE>
<P>
at the console and on the console I saw the message
<P>
<PRE> Syntax error on line 393 of /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf: Invalid
command 'PerlHandler', perhaps mis-spelled or defined by a module
not included in the server configuration [FAILED]"
</PRE>
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="The_Subject_Line">The Subject Line</A></H3>
<P>
The <EM>Subject:</EM> line is <STRONG>very</STRONG> important. Choose an
<STRONG>informative</STRONG>
<EM>Subject</EM> line for the mail header. Busy list members will skip messages with
unclear <EM>Subject</EM> lines.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Preserve_The_Threads">Preserve The Threads</A></H3>
<P>
Messages which all have the same <EM>Subject</EM> line text (possibly preceded by
the word ``Re:'' which is automatically
added by your mailer) are together known as a ``thread''. List members and
mail archive use mail unique-ids and/or the Subject line to sort mail. Do
not change the text without a very good reason, because this may break the
thread. Breaking the thread makes it difficult to follow the discussion and
can be very confusing. It may be better to start a new thread than to
continue an old one if you change the theme.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Post_in_PLAIN_TEXT">Post in PLAIN TEXT</A></H3>
<P>
Do not post in HTML. Microsoft users in particular should take careful note
of this. Use either the US-ASCII or ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1) character set, do
not use other character sets which may be designed for those who do not
speak English and which may not be displayable on many terminals. If you
ignore this advice then the chances are greater that your message will not
be read.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Time_and_Bandwidth">Time and Bandwidth</A></H3>
<P>
Remember that thousands of people may read your messages. To save time and
to keep badwidth usage to a minimum, please keep posts reasonably short,
but please make it clear precisely what you are asking. If you can, send a
*small* example of a script or configuration which reproduces your problem.
Please do not send long scripts which cannot easily be understood. Please
do not send large attachments of many kilobytes, if they are needed then
put them on the Web somewhere or say in your message that you can send them
separately if they are requested.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="Tags">Tags</A></H3>
<P>
It can be helpful if you use a <CODE>[tag]</CODE> in square brackets in the
<EM>Subject:</EM> line, as well as the brief description of your post.
<P>
Some suggested tags are:
<P>
<PRE> ADMIN Stuff about running the List.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> ADVOCACY Promoting the use of mod_perl, printing T-shirts, stuff like
that. Please don't start another discussion about whether we
should put this on a different list, we've been there before.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> ANNOUNCE Announcements of new software tools, packages and updates.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> BENCHMARK Apache/mod_perl performance issues.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> BUG Report of possible fault in mod_perl or associated software
- it's better if you can send a patch instead!
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> DBI Stuff generally concerning Apache/mod_perl interaction
with databases.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> FYI For information only.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> JOB Any post about mod_perl jobs is welcome as long as it is
brief and to the point. Note: Not "JOBS".
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> MASON Jonathan Swartz' implementation of Perl embedded in HTML.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> NEWS Items of news likely to be interesting to mod_perlers.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> OT Off-topic items, please try to keep traffic low.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> PATCH Suggested fix for fault in mod_perl or associated software.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> QUESTION Questions about mod_perl which is not covered by one of the
more specific headings.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> RareModules Occasional reminders about little-used modules on CPAN.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> RFC Requests for comment from the mod_perl community.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> SITE Things about running the Apache/mod_perl servers.
</PRE>
<P>
<PRE> SUMMARY After investigation and perhaps fixing a fault, and after an
extended discussion of a specific topic, it is helpful if
someone summarizes the thread. Don't be shy, everyone will
appreciate the effort.
</PRE>
<P>
If you can't find a tag which fits your subject, don't worry. If you have a
very specific subject to discuss, feel free to choose your own tag, for
example <CODE>[mod_proxy]</CODE> or <CODE>[Perl Sections]</CODE> but remember that
the main reasons for the <EM>Subject</EM> line are to save people time and to improve
the response to your posts. It
does not matter whether you use <CODE>[UPPER CASE]</CODE> or <CODE>[lower
case]</CODE> or even a <CODE>[Mixture Of
Both]</CODE> in the tag. Try to keep the tag short. The tag should be the first
thing in
the <EM>Subject</EM> line.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="If_You_Don_t_Get_a_Reply">If You Don't Get a Reply</A></H3>
<P>
Sometimes you will not get a reply. Try to be patient, but it is OK to try
again after a few days. Sometimes the replies you get will be very short.
Please do not worry about that. People are very busy, that's all.
<P>
Of course if your post is <CODE>[OT]</CODE> for the list then you may not get a
reply, or you may get one telling you
to try a different forum.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="If_You_Don_t_Understand_a_Reply">If You Don't Understand a
Reply</A></H3>
<P>
Just say so.
<P>
<HR>
<H3><A NAME="General_Perl_and_Apache_question">General Perl and Apache
questions</A></H3>
<P>
The mod_perl list is NOT for general questions about Apache and the Perl
language. The majority view is tolerant of off-topic posts, but it is
considered impolite to post general Perl and Apache questions on the
mod_perl list. The best you can hope for is a private reply and a polite
reminder that the question is off-topic for this list. If you catch someone
on a bad day, you might not get the best. There are often bad days in
software development departments...
<P>
If the Perl and Apache documentation has not answered your question then
you could try looking at <A
HREF="http://lists.perl.org/";>http://lists.perl.org/</A> or one of the
comp.lang.* newsgroups. From time to time there are efforts to start a
dedicated Perl mailing list and these usually result in a message or two on
the mod_perl list, so it might be worth your while to search the archives.
<P>
Please note that there are now separate mailing lists for ASP, EmbPerl and
Mason, but although we keep trying to get a separate list off the ground
for <EM>Advocacy</EM> it always seems to end up back on the mod_perl list.
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="Replying_to_posts">Replying to posts</A></H1>
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="The_Subject_line">The "Subject:" line</A></H2>
<P>
Make sure that you include the exact <EM>Subject:</EM> from the original post,
unmodified. This makes it much easier for people
(and for the mail software) to deal with the mail. If you must change the
subject line then please append the words ``was originally'' plus the
original subject line to your new subject line so that folks can see what
is going on.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Extracts_From_Other_Posts">Extracts From Other Posts</A></H2>
<P>
When replying to a post, please include <STRONG>short</STRONG> excerpts from the
post to which you are replying so that others can follow
the conversation without having to wade through reams of superfluous text.
If you are lazy about this then messages can get very long indeed and can
become a burden to the other people who might be trying to help. Make sure
that there is a clear distinction between the <CODE>text(s)</CODE> of the
<CODE>message(s)</CODE> to which you are replying and your reply itself.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Unnecessary_Duplication">Unnecessary Duplication</A></H2>
<P>
If you know that the intended recipients are subscribed to the List, there
is no need to send messages both to them and to the list. They will get
more than one copy of the message which is wasteful.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Private_replies">Private replies</A></H2>
<P>
It is helpful to keep most of your replies on the list, so that others see
that help is being given and so they do not waste time on problems which
have already been solved. Where it is appropriate to take a discussion off
the list (for example where it veers off-topic, as often happens), say so
in a message so that everyone is aware of it.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Flames">Flames</A></H2>
<P>
The readers of the mod_perl List aren't interested in that kind of thing.
Don't get involved.
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="The_mod_perl_Guide">The mod_perl Guide</A></H1>
<P>
You absolutely *must* read the mod_perl Guide.
<P>
It is a large document, you probably will want to download it and read it
off-line. If you get the source (see below, <A
HREF="#Corrections_and_Contributions">Corrections and Contributions</A>) it comes with
a build file to turn the .pod (Plain Old Documentation)
source into HTML, .ps (PostScript) and .pdf (Portable Document Format). You
will need at least Perl version 5.005 to build it. If you browse the Guide
on-line you can use one of the search engines to find things in it. If you
build and browse your own local HTML copy of the Guide, some of the links
in it will not work unless you are connected to the Internet. Some people
prefer to work offline, using tools like `grep' or `mc' to search the .pod
source directly.
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Finding_the_Guide">Finding the Guide</A></H2>
<P>
The URL of the Guide is:
<P>
<A HREF="http://perl.apache.org/guide/";>http://perl.apache.org/guide/</A>
<P>
The sources are available from CPAN and other mirrors:
<P>
<A
HREF="http://www.perl.com/CPAN-local/authors/id/S/ST/STAS/";>http://www.perl.com/CPAN-local/authors/id/S/ST/STAS/</A>
<P>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="Corrections_And_Contributions">Corrections And Contributions</A></H2>
<P>
Corrections and additions to the Guide are welcome. The original is kept in
.pod format, and it is converted to other formats by Perl code. The Guide
changes rather frequently (the CVS snapshot is updated every six hours!) so
if you want to make a contribution make sure that you get the latest
version of the Guide source from
<P>
<A
HREF="http://stason.org/guide-snapshots";>http://stason.org/guide-snapshots</A>
<P>
and make your changes to the .pod source only. In the first instance, post
your changes to the mod_perl List for comment.
<br><hr><br><!--
11 Jun 2000 Initial publication for comment
18 Dec 2000 Minor corrections and additions
21 Oct 2001 Minor corrections, converted to .POD format
-->
<P>
email-etiquette: This version dated 17 October 2001.
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