Once you've been reading Amber and Jet posts for awhile, you'll realize something -- the moderators like to keep a low profile, and have a liberal view of moderation.  The A&J list as a whole is usually self-moderating, with experienced members offering good advice and constructive criticism to newer members looking for the proper tone for list postings.  The list has certainly had its share of "hot topics" and "flame fests", but they tend to end themselves more quickly and with less hassle than is often seen on other Pagan lists.  However, in the five years Amber and Jet has been running, some recurring events have led us to write up a short set of guidelines for posting to the list.

1.  Keep postings to subjects pertinent to British Traditional Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft.  Please keep the following entirely off A&J:

• General internet humor forwards (Pagan-related jokes may be acceptable... use conservative judgment)
• Virus warnings, or non-Pagan warnings of any kind (needles in coin slots, flashing headlight myths, etc.)
• Forwards from other lists regarding petitions, surveys, and polls - even Pagan related ones.  Most members of A&J are on several others lists as well, and will likely have already seen it a dozen or more times.
• Commercial advertisements of any kind, whether the product is Pagan related or not.  Publicizing a Pagan festival is fine - advertising your commercial web store is not.  Links to commercial sites contained in a signature line is fine, as long as the signature line isn't usually longer than the member's posts.

• Please, no one-line "me too" posts that don't add anything to the subject.  If you're going to agree, great -- tell us why.
• If replying to a previous post, trim the headers and footers from the previous writer's post, and quote back only the parts that are relevant to your reply.  When in doubt, err on the side of too little quoted -- subscribers can always go back into the archives to find the referenced post.  Additionally, those receiving the list as a daily digest need to pay special attention that they do not quote back the entire digest, and should also be sure to change the subject line to the topic at hand, rather than leaving it as "Digest Number 3,141,592".
• Welcoming new members is nice, as long as it's not the only thing in the message.  Resist the urge to welcome each new member with a one-line "Welcome!", saving it instead until you have another post to send.

4.  Experience has shown there are some topics that prove to be so problematic we consider them always entirely off-topic.  It's a short list so far -- hopefully we won't have to add to it very often.

• $ilver Ravenwolf - always ends up causing flame fests when the topic is broached.  If you're going to mention her, do it quick, then leave it alone... we'll all be happier for it.
• The "Gardnerian/Protean" and "Alexandrian/Chthonioi" splits.  Bring up either other than in passing, and return yourself to permanent moderation.  Check the archives if you're curious, but they only needed to come up once apiece, and that time has passed.
• "Oathbreaking" of any sort.  Not a seeker level discussion.  Doesn't even work well amongst initiates, so don't think you're missing much.  Again, the archives have plentiful attempts, all failures.
• The "Correllian Nativist Tradition".  Absolutely no point on a BTW list.  The archives contain the opinions the listowners and most of the Trad elders on the list regarding this "tradition".

• Amber and Jet is a forum for discussion of many British Traditional Wicca traditions and groups.  Traditional Witchcraft groups often have much material that is considered "oathbound", that is, information that is limited to initiates of the tradition only, not to be distributed or discussed outside of that tradition's initiates.  While it is never wrong to *ask* a question of someone involved in a tradition, we ask that seekers and members of other traditions respect when someone says "I cannot answer that question for you", or simply remains silent despite a question presented to them.  Sometimes the question can be worded in a more broad fashion -- sometimes it is better to let the question drop altogether.
• Amber and Jet has as members people from dozens of different Witchcraft traditions, as well as seekers to those traditions.  What is considered oathbound for one tradition may not be oathbound for a different tradition.  In a case where a member of one tradition has issue with a particular subject or line of discussion due to its oathbound nature in their own tradition, our recommended course of action is to remain silent, and stay out of the discussion altogether.  If you kick up too much of a fuss, you'll likely end up letting out more than was being discussed in the first place -- there is something to be said for the concept of "Methinks thou dost protesteth too much".
• Anyone deliberately attempting to present material they claim or believe is Oathbound in any tradition (example:  "Here's some material from the Gardenia BOS") will be immediately unsubscribed and banned from the list, no questions asked.

6.  The Amber and Jet list will be intermittently moderated, with the intent of keeping the list focused to topics of specific interest and pertinence to British Traditional Wicca.  All new subscribers to the Amber and Jet list are automatically placed in moderated status. The majority of list members remain in moderation indefinitely -- less than five percent of the list subscribers are unmoderated.  Moderated members will find a brief lag in the appearance of their posts to the list, from one to six hours on average.  If a message has not been approved after 24 hours, members can write to the list moderators privately to discuss it.  Messages deleted by moderators may or may not be accompanied by an explanatory message.  Messages that were deleted for reasons clearly found in this list of guidelines will often have no explanation without personal inquiry.

7.  For the purposes of the Amber and Jet list, the term "Wicca" refers specifically to the lineaged, initiatory mystery religion with roots in the New Forest region of Great Britain, manifested today through various "traditions" all linked with a common ancestry back to the New Forest area.  "Wiccans" or "The Wica" are the properly lineaged, properly initiated members of those Traditions.

8.  Concerns about topics being discussed on Amber and Jet, questions about the topicality of potential discussions, or other inquiries on what is and is not appropriate to the Amber and Jet list can always be directed to our private e-mail account, either at amberandjet@spiralpaths.org (just Eddie and Teresa) or amberandjet-owner@yahoogroups.com (the entire moderation staff).

This is the initial guidelines list -- the things we thought of off the top of our heads.  The list will be updated and improved as time goes by, and with additional suggestions and comments from subscribers.  We will send a notice to the list following any major changes.

Final thought, from an Amber and Jet member:

"We in the Craft know that we have the ultimate responsibility for our actions, to ourselves but also to others in the Craft and for the nurturing of the Craft... harm none. So we should endeavor to make whatever form of gather a haven from a hostile world to us and for those seekers that are looking for a safe harbor in their journey."

Thank you for your cooperation and support in making Amber and Jet a focused, interesting, and satisfying list for all.
 

Eddie and Teresa

List Owners, Amber and Jet BTW e-list
January 1, 2002
last revision November 23, 2010

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