Hello fellow listowners, I am hoping that you can help me with what I see as a growing problem with my list,MEDLAB-L.(MEDLAB-L is a discussion group for professionals who work in medical laboratories.Subscribers include physicians,lab technologists/scientists,lab administrators,educators,and others.)The others include owners,CEOs,and sales reps of companies that sell diagnostic products and services to the med lab community. It is my belief that the list should not be used for overt or direct business purposes.To this end,I include a blurb(see excerpt below)with messages that go to new subscribers.My questions are as follows: 1.Am I in-line with what other owners allow for their lists? 2.Are there guidelines that you use for your lists that you are willing to share? 3.One recent request to which I said "no"-was I justified? The CEO of a major company wanted to write individual members asking for their input into research and development of new products by his firm. 4.A current request-do you think it constitutes using the list to do business? A reporter(former lab technologist) plans to create a commercial newsletter(supported by advertising from diagnostic companies).She wants to contact members of the list and use their input to write editorials and columns about their experiences with specific reagents and kits.I would like to accomodate her but do not want to set precedents (or double standards). Any advise anyone can give will be greatly appreciated.I am finding it increasingly difficult to monitor this issue.Many thanks.Regards,Pat ************************************************* AIMS of MEDLAB-L Please use the listserv for non-commercial purposes.Its objectives are to provide a forum for people associated with medical and related laboratories to share ideas and experiences,discuss mutual problems,offer advice,promote continuing education,network with international colleagues,and collaborate on research. ---------------------------------------------------------- IF YOU REPRESENT A COMPANY THAT SELLS GOODS AND SERVICES TO MEDICAL LABORATORIES You are a valuable contributer to MEDLAB-L and I welcome your full participation in the group.However,I would like to address the difficult issue of sending messages that may constitute advertising and commercial use of a discussion group like ours and to suggest some guidelines in this area.The University of Alberta(U of A),which provides the hardware and software to run MEDLAB-L,is a research and education Internet site,not a commercial site. This allows the University's access fees to the Internet to be cheaper than if we were a commercial site.Because we are not a commercial site, using U of A facilities for direct advertising of products and services is clearly inappropriate,as is using the list for any business activity. However,there exists a large grey area that is difficult to characterize and monitor.Many employees of commercial companies join groups like MEDLAB-L.A common topic of discussion among subscribers relates to laboratory products--their strengths,weaknesses,and where to buy them.Free and open discussion of products and services is an important benefit of membership in a group like ours. So where to draw the line? What is acceptable and worthwhile and what crosses the boundary into commercial use of MEDLAB-L? Keeping in mind that it is impossible to develop guidelines for all eventualities,I have come up with the following examples to show where my thinking lies.What I want to prevent is MEDLAB-L becoming a dumping ground for commercial advertising and other business activities. Examples of acceptable behavior 1.Stating that you sell product"X" and related services as a once-only introduction of yourself to the group. 2.Responding to specific questions asked by subscribers about products and services that your company supplies. 3.Promoting continuing education(even if commercial),provided that you have received permission from the list owner. Examples of unacceptable behavior 1.Sending *unsolicited* advertisements of commercial products and services to the group or to individual members. 2.At the end of a message to the group (on an unrelated matter),casually and habitually mentioning that product"X" is the most wonderful thing since sliced bread and is available from your company by calling or faxing ... 3.Sending unsolicited messages to individual members in order to use the list as a source of experts(or potential clients) for conducting research and development activities for your company. I welcome your comments and feedback.I need your help in devising a workable and fair policy for MEDLAB-L.I rely on you to use your judgement in co-operating with these suggested guidelines. ****************************************************************** ******************************************* "Round up the usual suspects." -Captain Louis Renault ******************************************* Pat Letendre Medical Laboratory Science B117 Clinical Sciences Bldg University of Alberta Edmonton,Alberta Canada T6G 2G3 Phone:(403)492-6507 Fax:(403)492-7794 E-mail:[log in to unmask] *******************************************