What is FTE?

What topics are discussed on FTE?

What is a Fumbler?

What is a Fumble Rumble?

How do I subscribe from FTE?

How do I unsubscribe from FTE?

How do I send a message to the list?

I'm subscribed, but I'm not receiving list mail

What are the rules or etiquette for FTE?

How do I contact the listowner?

 

What is FTE?

FTE is a mailing list for fans of Canadian singer/songwriter, Sarah McLachlan, and is named after her third studio album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

The mailing list was created in 1994 by Anthony Baxter and originally housed at Monash University in Australia (some may recall the address, [email protected]). FTE moved to Smoe.org in October of 1999, where it was co-run by John Stewart and Jenni Knoff. Lisa C. ("Lizza") took over for Jenni in August of 2000 and Dixon L. took over for John in June of 2003. Lizza and Dixon are the current FTE Co-Admins.

The number of daily posts on FTE varies and depends greatly on what is going on at the present time. For example, traffic is high when Sarah has a new release or is touring and it's not uncommon to see around 100 messages per day. Conversely, the amount of list mail goes down when Sarah is on hiatus. But always be prepared to handle a lot of mail.


What topics are discussed on FTE?

FTE is an un-moderated list and almost anything and everything seems to be discussed. It is a gathering of Sarah's fans—individuals with a common interest—free to discuss topics of similar interest.


What is a Fumbler?

Members of FTE are called, Fumblers!

What is a Fumble Rumble?

A Fumble Rumble is a real-life gathering of Fumblers that is usually planned for Sarah concerts and/or Lilith Fair. Fumble Rumbles have also been known to pop up for no reason other than the simple fact that there hasn't been one for a while.


How do I subscribe from FTE?

To subscribe, you must first decide on which version you prefer: the loose mail version, where each post by a listmember arrives in your inbox as an individual email; or the digest version, where several posts are bundled together in one large email (ideal for anyone with limited time and email access).

To subscribe to FTE: send an email to [email protected]
with these words for the body of your email: subscribe

To subscribe to the digest version of FTE: send an email to [email protected]
with these words for the body of your email: subscribe

After you subscribe to FTE, you'll receive a confirmation email asking you to reply to it. This is to validate that it was actually you who signed yourself up to FTE. This is to prevent other people from signing you up to a mailing list that you do not want to be on. Just follow the instructions in the confirmation email and you'll be on your way!

How do I unsubscribe from FTE?

To unsubscribe from FTE: send an email to [email protected]
with these words for the body of your email: unsubscribe

To unsubscribe from the digest version of FTE: send an email to [email protected]
with these words for the body of your email: unsubscribe

Details for unsubscribing (aka unsubbing) from the list are also attached to the bottom of each post that's sent to the list.

Please do not send your subscribe or unsubscribe email to the entire list ([email protected]). Send it to the above addresses. If you have any questions about subscribing or unsubscribing, please email the listowner(s) for help or refer back to this page.


How do I send a message to the list?

To send a message—or post—to the entire list so all members can read it, simply send your email to [email protected]. Even if you're on the digest version of the list, this is the address you must use to send your posts.


I'm subscribed, but I'm not receiving list mail

There could be several reasons why you're not receiving any list mail. The first could be that that the server is down due to maintenance, technical problems, etc. The listowner(s) will attempt to contact the list regarding any scheduled down time.

The second reason could be that you have been unsubbed from FTE. Why would this happen? If you're using an ISP or web-based email service that has a mail quota and you have hit your limit, then every message from FTE that is sent to you is "bounced" back to the listowner(s) because it was undeliverable. You may have been manually unsubscribed from the list for continuous mail bounces.

The next step is to check whether you're subscribed to FTE. To do this, send an email to [email protected] with the words, who fumbling-towards-ecstasy, for the body of your email; or, who fumbling-towards-ecstasy-digest, if you're on the digest version. If you don't see your name/email address anywhere on the list, then you've been unsubbed from the list. Simply re-subscribe to the list using the instructions above and all will be well.

If you're going to be away for an extended period of time, it's good practice to unsubscribe from the list while you're gone and then re-subscribe once you're back. This prevents the potential problem of your mail "bouncing" back to the listowners while you're away.


What are the rules or etiquette for FTE?

First off, there are some rules from Smoe themselves that we need to abide by. These rules are as follows:

  • NO HTML. HTML is not supported and is stripped out of all messages. Don't apply formatting to the text in your email, such as bold, italics or colors, because the formatting won't be seen.
  • NO ATTACHMENTS or BINARIES. Attachments are not supported and are stripped out of all messages. If you would like to share a file with other listmembers, send it to them via private email or upload it to a website and then send the URL to the list.

If you repeatedly violate either one of these rules, you will be unsubbed from FTE.

These are recommended guidelines for FTE:

  • Label your posts according to content.
    While this isn't a set rule, it is considered good etiquette to use an appropriate label in the Subject of your message. Some labels for FTE include:

    ASC - Actual Sarah Content - For posts with Sarah-related content.

    BST - Bull Shit Thread - This is for any topic that has nothing at all to do with Sarah or her music.

    NSC - No Sarah Content - If you're not sure if your post is BST, but it has nothing to do with Sarah.

    OAC - Other Artist Content - If your post is about an artist other than Sarah. This would include album reviews, concert reviews, etc.

    POL - Political - For posts that deal with politics.

    TECH - Technology/Technical - For posts that deal with technology or technical matters, e.g. questions and problems about computers, email, the Internet, your audio system, etc.

    SPOILER - If you're posting material that might spoil another person's enjoyment. A good example of this one is when Grammy time rolls around. Keep in mind that while everyone gets the same list mail, not everyone lives in the same time zone as you. So if you post something that spoils the outcome of an event, thinking the event is already over, the event might not have even begun for someone else yet because they're in a different time zone. (Did you follow all of that?)

    NP
    - Now Playing - Fumblers are notorious for their love of music. Oftentimes you'll see NP at the end of a post, followed by the name of a song or CD, etc. It's just a way of sharing the music you're really into at that particular time.

  • It's usually a good idea after joining any Internet mailing list to sit back for a few days (or longer) and read posts. This will give you an idea of how the list works and what kinds of things people post about. While we've all been "newbies" at one time or another, no one takes too kindly to a newbie barging onto a list and demanding this or that, or asking questions, etc., that can be answered had they merely taken the time to do a little research on the subject.

  • Try to remember that although FTE is an open list, there are some topics which no one will totally see eye to eye on. During these situations it's easy to misconstrue what another person is saying. When replying to what seems to be a particularly provocative post, it's usually best to consider your reply before posting. It's very easy to escalate a simple exchange of differing viewpoints into something that resembles WWIII. Topics that tend to bring about these types of responses usually include religion, sexuality, sexism, abortion, nationalism and gun control. Just be aware that these topics are volatile and have been known to start a few good "flame wars" on FTE.

  • Keep what's said in private email, private. It is universally considered bad manners to repost private mail to the general public without first asking the original author's permission and will generally result in some kind of backlash.

  • Forwarded posts - Right now there's no set rule for forwarding mail to FTE. If you do decide to post forwarded mail, be aware that some people don't like forwarded mail, especially if it's long and you keep all of the headers on it. Label the post according to the subject matter of the forwarded material so people can choose whether to read it or not.

  • Chain letters - If they've been posted to a lot of people beforehand, or if they detail good or bad luck if you don't pass the message along, they are not welcome on FTE.

  • Following the whole forwarded posts/chain letter deal is the subject of bandwidth. If you're sending a forwarded post, or replying to a post that's been sent to many people beforehand, try to trim the irrelevant stuff from your post before you send it. Not everyone has free Internet access and some people have to actually pay per minute for their access time. Therefore, it may be costing people money to download their email. So please be thoughtful of your fellow listmembers when you send things like this. Same thing goes when you're just replying to a post. Only quote what is necessary from the original author's post and get rid of anything else. Leaving in a bunch of useless stuff, or quoting excessively from the original author's post, only takes up other's time and space.

    There are some other basic guidelines for writing your posts that will make your life and the lives of other's much easier too. What follows is just basic Internet etiquette. For more on basic Internet etiquette, please see the following link: Netiquette Guidelines 

  • It makes reading much easier if you use paragraphs to break up your text. Reading solid text for page after page can become very tedious. Also, if you have a spell check program, use it. That's what it's there for.

  • Not everyone can read or see your email if you put it in HTML format. (All of this was mentioned earlier in the rules of Smoe, but it bears repeating.) While it looks pretty and exciting to you, to some people it ends up just looking like a bunch of gobbledygook and it will take longer to download for some. We all want to be exciting and different, but it seems as if email isn't quite the place yet.

  • Same thing goes with attachments, which are not allowed on the list. But even when sending an attachment via private mail, be sure the recipient wants the attachment and is aware of what it is. If you have something you want to share, ask people to email you and then privately email it to them.

How do I contact the listowner?

The FTE listowner(s) may be contacted at the following email address: [email protected]

or (type the text in the images into your email program):

Lizza -

Dixon -

Feel free to contact the listowner(s) if you have any questions, problems or concerns.


Special thanks go to John Stewart and Jenni Knoff, previous listowners of FTE; Anthony Baxter, for all his dedication and hard work with the FTE list over the years; and to Jeff Wasilko and the fine folks at Smoe who provide FTE a well-kept home.

Last updated 12-Jul-2004

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