The rules might sound harsh, but they've been created for the benefit of the majority of users, not as part of some demon-god-complex power trip. The point system was designed to punish those users who persistently ignore the rules.

Some leeway will be allowed for users who heavily contribute new ideas to the list; everyone has a bad day. If, however, a lurker comes out of the blue to flame someone twice, that will be grounds for dismissal.

• Stay on topic. Mail to the list should be of interest to the topic of ZENKI. Do not send humor columns, chain letters, virus warnings, images constructed from ASCii characters, other people's inspirational poetry or similar off-topic information. If you're having a bad day or facing a crisis, you may turn to the list if you wish; however, replies to any such posts must be sent privately to the individual unless it can be shown that the reply may be of help to others.
  
  (Violation: 1 point)
  
  
• No flaming. Any message of complaint about another subscriber should be sent directly to that person or to the admins.
  
  (Violation: 1½ points)
  
  
• No spam. Advertising will not be tolerated and will result in immediate dismissal. Unless it relates directly to Zenki, webpage promotion outside of the signature portion of a post will not be tolerated. Announcements of Zenki-related items for sale on E-bay are okay.
  
  (Violation: 3 points)
  
  
• No personal E-mail. Send personal mail directly to the person concerned. This includes brief congratulatory / welcome / agreement ("Me, too") / request ("Send me that") messages.
  
  (Violation: ½ point)
  
  
• Limit quotations. Do not include the entire length of the original message in a reply post. Delete anything that is not pertinent to the reply.
  
  (Violation: ½ point)
  
  
• No poll responses. Polls may be conducted on the list, but responses to polls must be sent privately to the poll-taker. The poll-taker may post the final results of a poll in a single E-mail.
  
  (Violation: 1 point)
  
  
• Respect privacy. Do not repost private E-mail to the list without the permission of the original author. If you have permission to repost a message or information, credit the author and display his E-mail address.
  
  (Violation: 2½ points)
  
  
• Use English as a medium. The common language of the list is English. If you wish to post in Tagalog, Spanish, Japanese, or another language for the benefit of a list user, a translation into English should also be provided. (Otherwise, the post will qualify as "personal E-mail.")
  
  (Violation: ½ point)

Remember: when in doubt, ask the admins.

• Label subject lines. Label the content of a post in the subject line. If the content of a post differs from the one it is in response to, update the subject line. Example: "XXX (was YYY)."

• Label spoilers. Include the tag "[SPOILER]" in the subject line and insert at least 20 white lines before the text of a spoiler.

• Attachments. Attachments which exceed 100kb in size will not go through.

• In with anger; out with love. Try not to give offense or be easily offended. Respond to issues, not to personal attributes.

• Protect the little children. Many list members are minors. Posted material should be unoffensive at all times.

• Everything is in writing. Be careful what you write. Remember that many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time.

• Freedom of speech. The opinions posted to the list are largely unrestricted and do not indicate endorsements or guarantees of any kind.

• Do not post personal info. Send personal information by private E-mail. Do not post your phone number or address to the list without understanding the potential consequences.

• Filter around ZML. A "[ZENKI ML]" tag is automatically attached to the subject line of all list mail. If you are filtering your E-mail, you can use this as a variable.

• Common terms:

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