Here is some general information about SDAnet:
SDAnet is a moderated English language worldwide electronic discussion mailing list.
The purpose of SDAnet is to encourage and facilitate contact and discussion among Seventh-day Adventists and their friends around the world in areas of doctrine, human relations, and practical issues of relevance to the SDA community in a manner which is both individually faith affirming and supportive of the SDA church.
Anyone may read and submit posts to SDAnet whether or not he or she is a subscriber. All posts are read and approved by a moderator and sent via email to the list of SDAnet subscribers--usually in late evening (US Eastern time zone). Depending on which list you chose, you will receive the messages as:

1. individual email messages (sdanet),
2. a daily compilation (sdadaily), or
3. a weekly compilation (sdanetdigest).

To contact one of the moderators: Send a message to sdamod@sdanet.org.

While the SDAnet Moderatorial Board are all Seventh-day Adventists and are supportive of the official Seventh-day Adventist church, you will see some posts on here that don't agree with what you think Adventism is or ought to be. All posts should, however, reflect Christian ideals of love and courtesy. Remember that not everyone here is a Seventh-day Adventist. This is the first contact with the SDA church for some, and the last remaining contact for others.

Welcome, and we hope you will be eager to participate in the discussions that are ongoing. If none suits your fancy, please introduce a topic that does. There is no more efficient way to talk about what you want to talk about! Before you begin posting, however, please read the Posting Policies document for SDAnet which is included below. For although we do not require a statement of agreement with our policies at subscription time, when we see you begin to post, we will assume that you have both read and are agreeing to abide by both the letter and the spirit of our policies.

Welcome. We hope you enjoy your discussions with us.

While we have no restrictions on who may subscribe and receive SDAnet mail, we do have posting policies that determine the style, content, attitude, and tone of messages accepted for posting on SDAnet. Thus, while we require no advance statement of agreement with our policies or commitment to follow them at the time of subscribing, when posts are submitted to SDAnet or SDAnews, we assume that the subscriber has both read and agrees to abide by the policies as given below. So please read this document carefully. If you have any questions please direct them to the moderators at sdamod@sdanet.org

There are two types of posting policies--those having to do with general or technical guidelines and those having to do with content, attitude, and/or "tone".

• A. General/technical guidelines.
  • Identity:
    Subscribers are expected to use their real names. Posts sent to SDAnet must be signed with both first and last names. Except on rare occasions and with special permission from the SDAnetboard, the use of pseudonyms is forbidden. While we do not require third party verification of identities and generally make no overt effort to verify identities, if falsification of identity is discovered, it is considered grounds for permanently withdrawing posting privileges.
  • Size and frequency restrictions:
    Each person may submit up to 3 posts per day. Each submission should not exceed 12 Kilobytes (about 200 lines).
  • Formatting and styled text:
    Posts should be sent in plain text only, using neither styled text nor HTML formatting.
  • Attachments and links:
    Attached files of any kind are not allowed. This saves bandwidth and helps prevent the spread of viruses. Links are allowed in either the body or the sig, so long as the content of the link is in harmony with SDAnet mission and policies.
  • Included Text:
    When replying to an SDAnet post, writers are urged to include a portion of the message to which they are responding, but only as much as is needed for clarity. Please recall the length limits above.
  • Advertising:
    SDAnet is not intended for advertising the sale of goods and services.
  • Crossposting:
    Mail from other forums or private individuals is not allowed on SDAnet.
  • Politics:
    Issues of a political nature are generally not allowed on SDAnet.
  • Private mail using SDAnet addresses:
    Since SDAnet both requires people to use their real names on SDAnet and allows poster's email addresses to appear on their posts, and since we are very concerned that the information thus made available not be abused:
    • (1) Any attempts to make mass E-mailings to net members outside the normal SDAnet delivery system, particularly if the post has been rejected, will be considered serious violations of policy and may result not only in loss of SDAnet posting privileges, but also in complaints to the mass E-mailer's Internet Service Provider.
    • (2) Likewise, the sending of offensive mail privately to another member, especially posts which have been rejected by the moderator, is considered an offence and a breach of netequitte, unless the other member has requested it to be sent to him.
    • (3) Recipients of mail of the types described above should inform the moderatorial team at sdamod@sdanet.org, where we will handle each complaint privately and according to how we perceive the seriousness of the action. Obviously if we get 50 complaints we will consider it more seriously than as if we get only one. So please do contact us if you receive such posts. But under NO circumstance should you send your complaint directly to sdanet. Complaints sent to the sdanet lists are in themselves a violation of policy.
• B. Content guidelines.
  SDAnet desires to be a place where the free exchange of ideas can take place. This can only happen in an environment where all are free to express their views without fear of personal attack or being subjected to condemnation because they hold certain beliefs.

  On the other hand, SDAnet aims to maintain an atmosphere which is supportive and affirming of the Seventh-day Adventist church, its beliefs, and leadership.

  There is a difference between discussing beliefs and attacking, denying, belittling or ridiculing them. SDAnet is dedicated to open discussion, but firmly against attack in any form. SDAnet is also dedicated to respect for each individual. Posters who disagree with others should do so without becoming disagreeable

  Thus, while opinions expressed on this list may not necessarily always reflect the official position of the SDA church, they must, however, always reflect the Christian ideals of love and courtesy.

  The Moderatorial team exists for the purpose of maintaining these ideals and takes responsibility for notifying subscribers when they are not staying within acceptable limits of policy. It is, of course, absolutely essential that subscribers recognize the role and function of our moderators and maintain a cooperative attitude even through adverse moderatorial decisions on their posts. Those who do not maintain this cooperative attitude cannot expect to long retain their posting privileges on SDAnet.

  To recap, explicate, and give examples of the above policies:

  There are three main types of offenses which can lead to a withdrawal of posting privileges on SDAnet.

  • 1) Posts which attack, denigrate, ridicule, slander, or misrepresent an individual person, whether that be a fellow SDAnetter or other individuals, living or dead, thus violating the principle that all posts must reflect the Christian ideals of love and courtesy.
  • 2) Posts which systematically attack, denigrate, ridicule, slander, or misrepresent the beliefs of the SDA Church and those who believe them, thus violating the stated purposes and principles of SDAnet-- especially when accompanied by evidence of intent to draw members away from the SDA church--whether this evidence is gleaned from sdanet submissions, private dialogue, other forums, or websites.
  • 3) Dialogues with the moderators which demonstrate an unwillingness to cooperate with their decisions and directives.
  With the rejection of a post for any reason, the moderator will send a note saying why it was rejected and giving opportunity for the writer to make suitable changes and resubmit. When the reason for rejection is of a serious nature as described above, the moderator will also warn the individual that he is endangering his posting privileges by his course of action. The moderatorial team is never hasty in withdrawing posting privileges, but once it has acted to do so, the withdrawal is permanent.

  During this discussion process, submissions by the individual are sent to the whole board for review and all posts submitted may be held pending the outcome of board discussions.

  From time to time, the board finds it necessary to add more specific policy guidelines. These, of course, will have the same force as those currently posted.

Recognize that "I agree" or "I disagree" serves just as well to establish your position relative to a statement by someone else as does "you're right" or "you're wrong", and is a lot less judgmental, thus more conducive to friendly discussion.

Please avoid addressing individuals on this net with personal calls to repentance and reformation, as they imply that you know the state of another's heart.

If you'd rather not see a specific discussion on SDAnet, feel free to use the delete command even without reading. If you'd like to see a specific topic discussed then be the one to begin discussing it. Give thought to your selection of a subject title, choosing one that appropriately reflects both the topic you wish to discuss as well as the kind of discussion environment that we all desire to maintain on SDAnet.

SDAnet Moderatorial Team

Legal Disclaimers for SDAnet:

The moderatorial board of SDAnet are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but are acting in the capacity of private citizens and not in any official capacity on behalf of the church.

SDAnet management attempts to prevent postings of confidential material and illegal use of copyrighted material, but cannot assume responsibility for ensuring that all posts sent by its members are legal and appropriate. Responsibility for each post rests with the individual poster.

Some government, military, and industry sites restrict participation in private mailing lists. SDAnet management assumes no responsibility for subscriptions that are out of harmony with any such restrictions.

If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list, use the subscribe/unsubscribe form located at http://www.sdanet.org/listman.cgi

If this does not work for you, send an email to the moderators at sdamod@sdanet.org. Be sure to give the name of the specific list as well as the address from which you wish to be unsubscribed.