This information is posted to the XSL-List (and the XSL-List Digest)
at intervals under the subject line "XSL-List guidelines".
INTRODUCTION TO XSL-LIST
XSL-List hosts discussion of XSL itself, XSL applications and implementation,
and XSL user questions. XSL-List is open to everyone, users and developers,
experts and novices alike. There is no restriction to what may be posted on the
XSL-List provided it is related to XSL, which is considered to include XSLT
(versions 1 and 2), XPath (versions 1 and 2) and XSL Formatting Objects (FO).
XSL-List is not a W3C mailing list, and has no affiliation with W3C (or any
official standing with any standards organization). However, XSL-List was
established with the encouragement of members of the W3C XSL Working Group, and
members of the Working Group are among the subscribers to the list.
Only subscribers can post to XSL-List, but since the goal is to increase the
level of XSL knowledge, XSL-List is being archived for everybody to view. The
topics being discussed on the XSL-List change as new ideas arise or existing
problems are dealt with, but the archive contains all of the ideas and
solutions that have been discussed on the list.
XSL-List is provided by Mulberry Technologies, Inc., as a service to the XSL
user community and the XSL standardization effort.
SUBSCRIBING TO THE XSL-LIST
To subscribe to the list, fill out the form at
http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/subscribe-unsubscribe.html.
DAILY DIGEST
Daily digests -- copies of a whole days XSL-List messages sent as one email
message -- are available. Not only is it a single email message containing all
of that day's XSL-List messages, it is also half the size, on average, of the
individual messages since it doesn't include the overhead of the mail headers
from each message.
To unsubscribe from the list and subscribe to the digest, use the form at
http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/subscribe-unsubscribe.html.
POSTING GUIDELINES
Only subscribers can post to XSL-List, and only from the exact address they
used when they subscribed.
There is no restriction on what may be posted to the XSL-List provided it is
related to XSL. Items concerning XML but without a direct connection to XSL
should be posted to a XML-related list instead of to the XSL-List. Items
related to DSSSL should be posted to the DSSSList.
Do not begin your subject line with "help" or "subscribe" since the list
software will bounce the message because it looks like is an administrative
request.
It is best to start a new message for a new thread. Do not start a new thread
by replying to an unrelated message and just changing the subject line, since
the header of your message will contain references to the previous message and
your new message will appear in the archive as one of the replies to the
original message.
Both subscribers to the full list
(xsl-list(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com) and subscribers to the
digest (xsl-list-digest(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com) should post
their messages to xsl- list(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com; the
messages will be received by both subscribers to the list and subscribers to
the digest.
BEFORE YOU POST ... DO YOUR HOMEWORK
- Check that your question isn't already answered in the XSL FAQ at
http://www.dpawson.co.uk/.
- Check that your question isn't already answered in the XSL-List archives at
http://www.biglist.com/lists/xsl-list/archives/.
- If you are asking for help with XSL code, determine which version of the
language you are using (plus extensions, if any), and confirm that your XSL
processor supports that version and/or extension. (If you are unsure of your
processor, this can be determined by using the stylesheet at
http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/processor-version.xsl on any input,
including the stylesheet itself: see
http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/processor-version.html for more
information.) An XSLT 1.0 engine will not process stylesheets written in XSLT
2.0!
IN YOUR POSTING ...
Name the XSL processor, processor version, and version of the language you are
using. This information is frequently necessary to diagnose a problem exactly,
and always helps respondents give good advice.
If you are replying to a post, trim the quoted message to just the parts to
which you are replying.
In addition to following simple rules of net etiquette and common sense, you
will improve the chances that you will receive prompt and helpful responses by:
- Asking questions specific enough that answers are possible. Describe what
you are trying to do, how you approached it, what happened, and why you don't
like the result you got. Don't simply say "it gave me an error": paste in the
error message (someone else can probably make sense of it).
- Illustrating your question with a demonstration of the problem.
Well-composed questions frequently include a small XML sample, an XSLT
stylesheet, the results received, and the result that was desired - all in
miniature, to make it comprehensible to readers new to your problem. (It is
also not uncommon to discover what a problem actually is in the process of
reducing it to an illustrative version.)
USE INFORMATIVE SUBJECT LINES
When posting to the XSL-List, do not use uninformative subject lines like
"Urgent", "Question", or "Newbie HELP!!!", which don't say anything about what
your problem is. Instead, use a meaningful subject line that will make sense to
the people whose help you are trying to get. It may even get a response from
people who normally shy away from "beginner" questions.
Informative subject lines make the XSL-List archive more useful since people
with the same problem will more easily find the relevant threads.
DO NOT CROSS-POST
Cross-posting to the XSL-List and to another list, even XML-Dev or the
DSSSList, is generally counter-productive. No list's archive will contain the
complete thread; cross-posts from non-subscribers continuing the thread will
bounce; and XSL-List subscribers who are not also on the other list will only
see half the thread, as will those on the other list who are not also reading
XSL-List. Subscribers to both lists may see two copies of the message, annoying
them as well.
REPLIES GO TO THE LIST
The reply address of XSL-List messages (and of digests) is
xsl-list(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com so REPLIES GO TO THE LIST BY
DEFAULT. If you want to reply to just the author of a post, you should change
the "To:" field in your reply.
USE SHORT QUOTES OF PREVIOUS MESSAGES IN REPLIES
Please do not quote entire messages just to add a few lines at the beginning or
end. Instead, quote the parts to which you are directly replying or quote
enough to establish the context.
Everybody on the list has already received the message that you are quoting,
and anyone searching the archive will find your message and the previous
message listed under the same thread.
Subscribers to the XSL-List will just ignore most of the quoted messages and
move to the next post, but subscribers to the XSL-List Digest will mostly have
to page past the quoted messages to reach the next material in which they are
interested in reading.
ATTACHMENTS ARE BANNED
Since Mulberry's mailing lists have in the past been unwittingly used for
spreading viruses in e-mail attachments, all e-mail attachments are banned from
the XSL-List.
XSL stylesheets are XML files, and XML files are text files, so this does not
affect the majority of posts to the list since you can include the files' text
in the body of your message. If you need to refer to a binary file such as a
PDF file, you should put the file on a Web site or FTP site and include the
file's URL in your XSL-List post.
If you do include an attachment in your XSL-List post -- even a HTML attachment
-- your message will bounce.
XSL-List ARCHIVE IS NOT EDITED
Because it is a public resource created by and for the entire XSL community, we
do not edit XSL-List. Therefore, it is responsibility of list subscribers not
to post anything to the list that they do not want publicly available, possibly
for a very long time.
UNSUBSCRIBING FROM THE XSL-LIST
To unsubscribe from XSL-List, use the form at
http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/subscribe-unsubscribe.html.
UNSUBSCRIBING FROM THE XSL-LIST DIGEST
To unsubscribe from the XSL-List digest, use the form at
http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list/subscribe-unsubscribe.html.
IF YOU STOP GETTING XSL-LIST MESSAGES
If you stop receiving XSL-List message, you may have been removed because mail
to you was bouncing. You are not being picked on, and you can just rejoin the
list.
ARCHIVE
XSL-List messages are archived at
http://www.biglist.com/lists/xsl-list/archives/.
REPORTING BUGS IN SOFTWARE
Bugs in software should firstly be reported to its author rather than to the
XSL List. Questions regarding how to work around bugs are welcome, but the list
does not function as a bug-tracking system for any software.
XSL FAQ AND OTHER INFORMATION ON XSL
Dave Pawson's XSL FAQ is at http://www.dpawson.co.uk/.
The W3C information on XSL is at http://www.w3.org/Style/XSL.
An excellent source of information about XSL is the XSL page of Robin Cover's
SGML/XML Web Page at http://www.oasis-open.org/cover/xsl.html.
Mulberry's XSLT and XPath Quick Reference is at
http://www.mulberrytech.com/quickref/.
DSSSLIST -- THE DSSSL USERS' MAILING LIST
Mulberry Technologies, Inc., also provides the DSSSList -- the DSSSL Users'
Mailing List. For subscription information and the DSSSList archive, see
http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dssslist.
CONTACT
If you have any questions or problems, please contact xsl-list-
owner(_at_)lists(_dot_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com(_dot_)
CHANGE History
==============
March 2, 2005 - btu.
4. Users are asked to identify the version of XSLT and XPath
they are using for questions that are specific to one version
5. Clarifying the policy on editing the list archive (we don't edit
it).
==============
March 30, 2004 - btu.
1. All references to subscribing and unsubscribing have been
updated to reflect changes in the list management system.
2. Pointers to the XSL and XPath specification were removed. There
are now so many specifications and draft specifications relevant
to XSL that it is more practical to simply point to W3C's XSL
page.
3. A few typographical errors were corrected.