Veterinary Ophthalmology (VOPH-L) and ACVO Member (ACVO-L) Listserv Guidelines

Updated 12-01-2021

Please take a moment to review the VOPH-L and ACVO-L listserv guidelines to make sure that, when you are posting to the listserv, you are following the proper guidelines. Submitting a post to either listserv is an agreement to abide by these guidelines. Abuse of listserv guidelines may result in temporary or permanent withdrawal of listserv privileges for the offending participant from both lists.

Listserv participation

Initial membership in either listserv is subject to the approval of the ACVO administration (office@ACVO.org) or the chair of the ACVO Listserv Committee (ListServs@acvo.org).

• ACVO-L is open to all Diplomate Members of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

• VOPH-L is open to:  

  • ACVO or ECVO diplomates

  • ACVO or ECVO residents, and those who have completed their residency and are not yet boarded

  • Ophthalmologists in other countries with training similar to ACVO and residents of these ophthalmologists.

  • If someone is unsure if they may qualify for listserv membership, they can send the ACVO Listserv Committee chair their qualifications.  They may also send the ACVO Listserv Chair the name of a voph-l member in their country that can recommend them.

What the listserv should provide

• Opportunities to benefit from the collective veterinary ophthalmology wisdom of the group.

• A chance to share commonly valuable information inexpensively and quickly (e.g. information on conference or regional meeting times and locations).

• Information specific to ACVO Diplomates only should be limited to the ACVO listserv.

What the listserv should refrain from

• Items whose principle premise does not have a veterinary ophthalmology related component. Subjects that may be important to society as a whole or to the larger veterinary community, but not specifically relevant to veterinary ophthalmology, are not appropriate for this platform.

• Items that principally involve communications that are germane to just a few people.

• Items that essentially lobby fellow listserv participants on an issue being debated within the veterinary profession.

• Anything that involves subjects of an anti-trust nature, or that violates US law.

• Any discussion or promotion of products, services, digital platforms, etc. that violate US law, including copyright and/or trademark use violations.

• Messages that contain information that is abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, discriminatory, racist, sexist, political or otherwise inappropriate that could be offensive to one or more participants.

• Any advertisements from vendors regarding their products.

Listserv formatting

• When posting on the listserv please include a signature with your message which should include your name, credentials, affiliation, location and email address. Signatures must not contain any images as that will cause them to be rejected. Exclude any signatures or auto signatures that are political, religious or otherwise state an affiliation that is unrelated to veterinary ophthalmology.

• The listservs do not accept inclusion of images of any kind. If you wish to submit clinical images, these are posted by the ACVO office and can be referenced in your listserv posting.

• Concisely and clearly state the specific topic of your email in the subject line, for quick and future reference.

• You should reply to the listserv when the information you are sharing is something everyone can potentially benefit from (e.g. how you or your organization handles an issue which was posted as a question). You should reply only to the individual asking the question when your response is confidential, has application to only the person asking, and/or is seeking to determine your attendance at a function.

Listserv etiquette

• User agrees to refrain from posting information and/or participating in online discussions having antitrust implications, and that may lead to, whether expressed or implied, price fixing, boycotting of any industry, company or business, or any other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Discussion of specific prices or fees that could lead to price fixing is prohibited.

• User agrees to refrain from posting information and/or participating in online discussions that are, or could be, considered a breach of ethics or a violation of ACVO’s harassment policy, or violate US law, including copyright or trademark use law.

• Please note that when you select the "Reply" button on your email, the response will be distributed to everyone on the listserv. To respond to an individual, place that individual’s email address in the "To" box.

• Be professional at all times. As we all know, there are many ways to solve the same problem. We must all be able to “agree to disagree” without attacking anyone or anything on the listserv. If someone feels a professional or ethical line has been crossed, there are appropriate arenas to resolve that conflict, but it is NOT the listserv.

Listserv confidentiality

• Please do not forward listserv content to non-participants without the permission of the original sender.

• Please do not forward personal emails to the listserv without permission of the original sender.

• The listserv is “private” meaning that subscriptions have to be entered manually.

• The listserv is “confidential” meaning that they do not show up on the listserv lists published by the University of Georgia. The University of Georgia is merely the “host” of our listserv.

• Listserv users need to recognize that, even though the listservs are considered “private and confidential”, there is nothing to prevent a user from violating listserv etiquette and forwarding a posted email to a non-participant. Such violations, if traceable, could lead to withdrawal of listserv privileges for the offending participant.

Violations of Listserv guidelines

If a listserv participant feels that someone has access to the listserv without proper credentials or that listserv etiquette or rules have been violated, please contact the listserv administrator via this email: ListServs@acvo.org. Such matters will be considered by the entire ACVO Listserv Committee as needed. Abuse of the listserv guidelines may result in a warning for first offenders, followed by at least 6 months of temporary or permanent withdrawal of listserv privileges for the offending participant. Review the List Serve ad hoc Committee’s policies and procedures document for explanations of how violations will be handled.