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. Mulberry is an XML and SGML consultancy
specializing in applications that have a text design, processing,
interchange, or display component. For more information about
Mulberry Technologies, Inc. see http://www.mulberrytech.com
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@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
and subscribers to the digest
(xsl-list-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) should post their messages
to xsl- list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; 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@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 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 1.0 and XPath 1.0 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@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CHANGE History
==============
October 1, 2005 - btu.
6. Mulberry Technologies' relationship to XSL-List clarified. We
do the work. We pay the bills. Organizations who post unauthorized
copies of the archive without acknowledging Mulberry's contribution
are not playing nicely in the community.
==============
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.