Autism List FAQ


original author Ray Kopp January 1998
updates by Carolyn Baird July 2000 - January 2006
NOTE: If you are seeking information or advice or researching autism, Please Click Here before emailing me.
For questions, comments or requests for mailing copies of this FAQ please email cas@boronia.apana.org.au.

EASe Disc 1 - Loaner Program

Introduction

This is the FAQ for the Autism List which was hosted by St. Johns University (autism@maelstrom.stjohns.edu) from April 1992 until January 2006 when it was relocated to this site.

This FAQ is meant to describe the list and outline how to join the list and/or change different subscription parameters. It also provides a way of accessing the rules for this list and the archives.

Quick Subscription Help

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change subscription parameters by use of an easy to use web form please click on this link. .

Table Of Contents

  • What is an FAQ?

  • Where does the autism list reside?

  • How long has the Autism List been active?

  • Why was the Autism List formed?

  • How can I obtain the Rules for this list?

  • Do you censor the list?

  • Are there any banned topics?

  • Who are the Panel of Listowners?

  • I have a problem, who do I contact?

  • What do all these abbreviations mean?

  • Are there other documents that pertain to this list or of interest to subscribers?

  • Are there other autism discussion groups?

  • Where would I find an FAQ on Autism in general?

  • Are there archives for this list?

  • How can I access the archives?

  • How can I read the list?

  • Can I read the list via a newsgroup?

  • How do I subscribe?

  • How do I leave the Autism List?

  • I cannot handle the large volume of email messages, what can I do?

  • How do I set my subscription to digest?

  • How do I stop mail, either for vacations or to read the list via the web?

  • How do I restart the mailing of the list, or discontinue digest form?

  • I do not receive copies of my posts? Why not and what can I do about it?

  • How do I get a list of the valid commands for changing my options by email?

  • I appear to have been unsubscribed without requesting it, why?

  • If I get unsubscribed without warning what do I do?

    • Frequently Asked Questions With Answers

    Question: What is an FAQ?
      Answer: An FAQ is a list of "Frequently Asked Questions".

    Question: Where does the autism list reside?
      Answer: The Autism List formerly resided at St. John's University in Jamaica, New York. It was set up several years ago with the help of Dr. Robert Zenhausern who was one of the first co-listowners. The other original co-listowner was Ray Kopp who remains the primary listowner. The list now resides on Hunter APANA's listserver in the home of co-listowner, Carolyn Baird in Glendale, NSW Australia. (APANA is the Australian Public Access Network Association - a non-profit, non-commercial organisation established in 1991).

    Question: How long has the Autism List been active?
      Answer: The first post to the Autism List was on Saturday April 25th 1992.

    Question: Why was the Autism List formed?
      Answer: The Autism list was formed in April of 1992 at Ray Kopp's request with the help of Dr. Zenhausern of St. John's University. At this time Ray had discovered mailing lists and had a child who had special needs, although not really diagnosed autistic until much later (see Our Family's history with Autism).

      Ray had been looking for a list that dealt with developmental disabilities for quite a long time. In fact it was probably about one year. Ray had been reading the "misc.handicapped" newsgroup in that time but found very little that related to his family's situation. That forum was primarily about the more talked about disabilities, blindness, deafness and people who had mobility problems. Ray posted several requests for other sites and never got back any replies until finally one request resulted in an email from Dr. Zenhausern saying that he didn't know of any either, but had some interest in the issue and wondered if Ray would be interested in having one set up. Ray jumped at the chance hoping to finally find a place where parents with children with developmental disabilities could compare situations, find educational resources and relate experiences.

      Our membership expanded rapidly and the list became a very good support mechanism for many people. And has remained as such for quite a while, despite some difficulties over the time due to conflicts over lack of rules and control over debates that would arise. It actually caused many people to leave the list and start other resources. Which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Ray did not like seeing his list being less and less of a help to people, but it did provide a split that provided a much more personal support for some people in some areas.

      In 1997 Dr. Zenhausern who was doing much of the maintenance of the list received more responsibilities at St. Johns and had to give up the micro work on individual lists, thus in late 1997 Ray was asked to take over this task.

      Ray saw it as an opportunity to correct some of the difficulties with the list and to try to bring it back to some semblance of support. Ray brought forth the idea of a Panel of Listowners and they were elected by those that chose to vote on the list. After that rules were created and installed. Through Ray's efforts the list will once again become a good resource to many people and a more comfortable place for more of its members and those that wished to join.

      In July 2000, Ray (no longer able to devote the time to maintaining list due to work and family commitments) asked Carolyn Baird (the elected autistic representative of the Panel) to take over list maintenance and the role of acting primary listowner from him and with agreement from the other members of the Autism Panel, Carolyn accepted.

    Question: How can I obtain the Rules for this List?
      Answer: The rules, which all subscribers are responsible to abide by in each post are available online at autismrules.html or by direct email to any of the Panel of Listowners or me (cas@boronia.apana.org.au). A brief summary of the Rules is periodically distributed through the list.

    Question: Do you censor the list?
      Answer: We do not in general censor posts to the list. We do reserve the right to restrict membership and to remove or moderate subscribers who do not abide by the rules in posting. Appropriateness of the content of posts is the responsibility of the subscriber and must conform to the rules of the list.If a member breaches the rules of the list their posts may be moderated to prevent that member from committing further breaches of the rules. Such moderation will be removed when the Panel considers that the member is unlikely to commit any further breaches.

    Question: Are there any banned topics?
      Answer: Yes, discussions regarding abortion are banned.

    Question: Who are the Panel Of Listowners?
      Answer: The Panel Consists of Representatives of each of the main areas the list is meant to support: parents, professionals and Autistics:
      The Panel Members are:

    Question: I have a problem, who do I contact?
      Answer: Please mail any questions about issues, requests for help with subscriptions, or complaints to the Panel or to any one of the above Panel members.

      NOTE: DO NOT MAIL COMPLAINTS TO THE LIST ITSELF, THAT IS A VIOLATION OF THE RULES.

    Question: What do all these abbreviations mean?
      Answer: The Abbreviations Page contains a list of those most commonly used on the Autism List.

    Question: Are there documents that pertain to this list or of interest to subscribers that are available?
      Answer: There are a number of documents available. These are listed on the Archives Page.

    Question: Are there other Autism Discussion Groups?
    Question: Where would I find an FAQ on Autism in general?
      Answer: John Wobus maintains an excellent FAQ document on Autism. Much of what is contained on his FAQ has been taken from this list and other lists that he is a member of and general information that he and Ray ran across in their search for information on Autism. You can find his Autism FAQ at The Autism Resources Page.

    Question: Are there archives for this list?
      Answer: The archives on this site are incomplete but they are the most complete archives for the Autism List that still exist. There are more than 150,000 individual messages archived and these can be searched by keyword on this site.

    Question: How do I access the archives?
      Answer: All existing archives are available on this site.

      Access to the archives requires a password. After subscribing to the list you will receive a password to enable you to change your subscription options. This password will not allow access to the archives. You will notified of the username and password for archive access by the listowner after you subscribe to the list.

    Question: How can I read the list?
      Answer: You can read this list:
      • By email sent directly to your mailbox as individual messages or in digest format.
      • Online via the Digest Page
      • As individual html messages in the archives.

    Question: Can I read the list via a newsgroup?
      Answer: No! You can only use one of the methods outlined in "How can I read the list?" above.

      NOTE: The list used to be fed to the newsgroup "bit.listserv.autism", however, this list has had no connection to that newsgroup for more than 10 years. Only posts to that newsgroup now appear on "bit.listerv.autism"

    Question: How do I subscribe?
      Answer: There are two recommended ways:
      • Complete the web form at http://lists.apana.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/autism
      • Email your request to the following address (exactly as written)autism-request@lists.apana.org
          In either the subject or in the body of the message put
          subscribe [password] [digest|nodigest] [your email address]
          Commands in brackets are optional. Your password must be given to unsubscribe or change your options, but if you omit the password when subscribing, one will be generated for you. You may be periodically reminded of your password. If you omit your email address, the address your email was sent from will be used. If you omit specifying 'digest' or 'nodigest' you will receive the list as individual messages.

        A confirmation email will be sent upon receipt of the subscription request.

    Question: How do I leave the Autism List?
      Answer: As above:
        In either the subject or in the body of the message put
        unsubscribe [password] [your email address]
        Commands in brackets are optional. If given, your password must match your current password. If omitted, a confirmation email will be sent to the unsubscribing address. If you wish to unsubscribe an address other than the address you sent this request from, you should specify `that email address' (no brackets around the email address, and no quotes!)

    Question: I cannot handle the large volume of email messages, what can I do?
      Answer: Set your subscription to:
      • 'Digest'. You'll receive all the day's posts in a single message.
      • 'Delivery Off' and read the list messages online either via the Digest Page or the Archives.

    Question: How do I set my subscription to digest?

    Question: How do I stop mail, either for vacations or to read the list via the web?

    Question: How do I restart the mailing of the list, or discontinue digest form?

    Question: I do not receive copies of my posts? Why not and what can I do about it?

      Answer: All the above have the same first option:
      • Log into the web form at http://lists.apana.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/autism using your email address and password and select 'Unsubscribe or Edit Options'.

      • Email your request to autism-request@lists.apana.org

        All the above use the email set command. In either the subject or in the body of the message put the relevant set as detailed below. If you omit your email address, the address your email was sent from must be the one you are subscribed under.

    Question: How do I get a list of the valid commands for changing my options by email?
      Answer: Email your request to autism-request@lists.apana.org

      In either the subject or in the body of the message put the relevant set command as below.
      If you omit your email address, the address your email was sent from must be the one you are subscribed under. 

            	set help
        	Show this detailed help.

   	 set show [your email address]
        	View your current option settings.  If you're posting from an address
        	other than your membership address, specify your membership address
        	with `your email address' (no brackets around the email address, and no
        	quotes!).

    	set authenticate (password) [your email address]
        	To set any of your options, you must include this command first, along
        	with your membership password.  If you're posting from an address
        	other than your membership address, specify your membership address
        	with `your email address' (no brackets around the email address, and no
        	quotes!).

    	set ack on
    	set ack off
        	When the `ack' option is turned on, you will receive an
        	acknowledgement message whenever you post a message to the list.

    	set digest plain
   	set digest mime
    	set digest off
        	When the `digest' option is turned off, you will receive postings
        	immediately when they are posted.  Use `set digest plain' if instead
        	you want to receive postings bundled into a plain text digest
        	(i.e. RFC 1153 digest).  Use `set digest mime' if instead you want to
        	receive postings bundled together into a MIME digest.

    	set delivery on
    	set delivery off
        	Turn delivery on or off.  This does not unsubscribe you, but instead
        	tells Mailman not to deliver messages to you for now.  This is useful
        	if you're going on vacation.  Be sure to use `set delivery on' when
        	you return from vacation!

    	set myposts on
    	set myposts off
        	Use `set myposts off' to not receive copies of messages you post to
        	the list.  This has no effect if you're receiving digests.

    	set hide on
    	set hide off
        	Use `set hide on' to conceal your email address when people request
        	the membership list.

    	set duplicates on
    	set duplicates off
        	Use `set duplicates off' if you want Mailman to not send you messages
        	if your address is explicitly mentioned in the To: or Cc: fields of
        	the message.  This can reduce the number of duplicate postings you
        	will receive.

    	set reminders on
    	set reminders off
        	Use `set reminders off' if you want to disable the monthly password
        	reminder for this mailing list.

    Other Commands 
            end
                Stop processing commands.  Use this at the end of the command if your mail program                  
                automatically adds a signature file.

        help
                Get the help message.

        info
                Get information about this mailing list.

        password [(oldpassword) (newpassword)] [your email address]
                Retrieve or change your password.  With no arguments, this returns
                your current password.  With arguments (oldpassword) and (newpassword)
                you can change your password.

                If you're posting from an address other than your membership address,
                specify your membership address with `your email address' (no brackets
                around the email address, and no quotes!).  Note that in this case the
                response is always sent to the subscribed address.

       who password [your email address]
                See everyone who is on this mailing list.  The roster is limited to
                list members only, and you must supply your membership password to
                retrieve it.  If you're posting from an address other than your
                membership address, specify your membership address with
                `your email address' (no brackets around the email address, and no
                quotes!)

    Question: I appear to have been unsubscribed without requesting it, why?
      Answer: If your address bounces messages back to the listserver over a number of days it will automatically unsubscribe you.

    Question: If I get unsubscribed without warning what do I do?
      Answer: Ensure that the problem with your incoming mail bouncing has been rectified and then resubscribe. If the problem recurs contact your ISP.

    NOTE: Watch this page for continuing updates regarding the Autism List. If you have a question that you feel should be on this FAQ and is not feel free to email me the question and if I can answer it and think it is common enough and not unique to your situation I will add it.

    To email me new questions, comments or requests for mailing copies of this FAQ please email cas@boronia.apana.org.au.

    The Autism List was originally a part of St. John's University's "ATHENAEUM" project.

    Follow this link to use the form for subscription changes.

    Follow this link to go to the rules for participation in the list.

    Send your comments or corrections to cas@boronia.apana.org.au - maintainer of the Autism List FAQ.