Reiki Mailing List Guidelines

Welcome to the Reiki mailing list! This page contains basic information about the list policies and this web site. It is designed to help you participate in this forum effectively. It is the responsibility of each subscriber to be familiar with this information so the discussions can proceed smoothly, without administrative interruptions. It may seem like this is a lot to read through, but it is all important, especially if you are new to email mailing lists in general.

About This Web Site

This web site is intended for the use of Reiki list subscribers only. Please do not give the site address to others. There are three main reasons for asking this:

  • The healing requests for the Reiki Circle contain personal information. It is important that the information be kept as private as possible out of respect for those making the requests, just as we would for anyone receiving a treatment from us.
  • More site traffic means more site administration time (which is often not easily available).
  • Substantially greater traffic would generate a higher site hosting fee.
Thank you for your consideration.

Reiki Circles

Every Monday Friday evenings at 6-9 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone), the Reiki mailing list sponsors a Reiki Circle. At that time (or any other time that is convenient), subscribers who know how are invited to send Reiki distance treatments to any or all of those people who have requested one. You can see the list on this web site.

If you do not feel comfortable sending treatments to people as a group, feel free to send individually or in any other manner to which you are accustomed. Some subscribers check the request list and send treatments whenever they have an opportunity instead of trying to make the Circle schedule.

You can request a treatment for yourself or someone else at any time by completing our special form, also on this web site. Please respect the privacy of the healing recipients by asking their permission before posting any names.

These Circles were created by list subscribers for participation by list subscribers, and are the only events posted to the list (see Advertising and Promotion guidelines below).

F R E Q U E N T L Y   A S K E D   Q U E S T I O N S

Version: 4.0 (Last revision: 11/11/02)

What is this list all about?

The purpose of the Reiki mailing List is to provide an open forum for discussion of topics related to Reiki healing energy techniques and the spiritual practice of Reiki. The list is open to anyone interested -- you do not need to be a practitioner to participate. This is a place to share questions, tips, techniques, and knowledge related to the practice of Reiki and working with Reiki healing energy. It is intended to provide support to practitioners and be a resource for the Internet community in general.

How is the list run?

This list is run by Nancy Ging, a second degree practitioner trained in the Usui tradition, who lives on Camano Island in Washington state (USA). Nancy is the list's host and administrator. That means when you have a problem with the list, you have to go through her. Life is just like that sometimes. To find out more about Nancy, see the web page at:
     http://www.turtlehome.com/about/nancy.html

Please keep in mind that Nancy has another life as well, and runs this list because she wants to, not out of any obligation. It is a labor of love, and she appreciates your help in keeping the "labor" part to a minimum.

How do I post a message to the list?

To post a message to the list, simply address your message to:

     reiki@three.pairlist.net

How do I unsubscribe/subscribe from the list?

Unsubscribe and subscribe requests are handled by a computer. That makes the list possible, because if Nancy had to do all of this herself, she wouldn't be willing to run the list. So please follow the instructions precisely. It makes Nancy happy to not have to worry about this.    :-)

You'll find instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing at:
     http://three.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/reiki
You can also set your personal subscription options from there, too, such as digest or vacation settings.

What are the list etiquette rules?

List etiquette, as in any other social interaction, are mostly a matter of courtesy and respect for your fellow listees. Here are some of the most important things to consider:

  • Brevity:
    When you post a message to the list, keep in mind that it will be read by a variety of people, on a variety of different types of computers. Different people manage their mail in different ways, and different systems charge in different ways for internet mail. Some subscribers are charged by the byte or by the second for connect time and bandwidth, so brevity can be important to them.

  • Friendly:
    Think of the list as Nancy's living room where friends gather to visit. Please keep posts friendly and respectful in tone. Nancy tries really hard not to be a List Mom (though she has some experience as a mother that makes it an option!), so she tends to err on the side of leniency wherever possible. But in those rare cases where a listizen needs to be corrected, Nancy would much rather it happened just once, rather than 200 times. Therefore, problematic behavior will elicit one warning message. If the behavior persists, the sender will be unsubscribed from the list and offered other options (when possible).

    When you see something going on that you think is a truly grievious breach of protocol, please don't post a message to the list to correct it. You may send a message to the list owner (), and she'll deal with it as she sees fit.

  • Reiki Symbol Names:
    As you may or may not know, the subject of Reiki symbols can be controversial. In order to allow a forum for discussion of various viewpoints but at the same time respect the differing beliefs people hold, it is the policy of this list to refer to symbols by using descriptive English names rather than the formal Japanese names. Use of the Japanese names will be subject to the one-time-warning, second-time-unsubscription policy outlined above. Also, images of the symbols may not be sent to the list. Discussion of the symbols and their use is encouraged, however. You are welcome to use words like distance symbol, mental/emotional symbol, power symbol, Master symbols, etc. You are also free to post the address of any web sites that have to do with symbols.

  • Replying to a Message:
    When replying to a message, pay attention to where the message is addressed. In other words, do you really want to reply to the whole list or are you trying to email a response to the author privately? By default, replying to a list message will send a message to the individual who wrote it. Please be mindful that your replies are going where you want them to. Please do not send copies of list replies to other mailing lists.

  • Quoting Messages In Replies:
    It is a Good Thing to quote part of the message you are replying to, so that people reading it can easily find the context of your reply. On the other hand, it's usually sufficient to quote just a few lines, rather than copying the entire previous message every time. Digest subscribers are not very happy when they have to scroll through copies of the same message after every reply.

    Most email software has an option for quoting the previous message in a reply. Then all you have to do is cut out the parts that aren't necessary, and write your reply in the message body.

    Try to keep the quotes to less than 20% of the lines of your message (unless the whole thing is just a few lines anyway). Not all guidelines work for all situations though, so use your discretion. Generally it's best to err on the side of too brief rather than too wordy.

  • Forwarding List Messages:
    When people post messages to the list, they have a reasonable expectation that only list subscribers will see what they post. This is especially true for messages containing personal information. Please do not forward any list messages (or even parts of list messages) without getting permission from the author first. On the other hand, mistakes sometimes happen, so please don't count on list messages being kept private.

  • CAPSLOCK:
    Using ALL CAPS is a no-no. It is experienced on the receiving end as shouting, and can be difficult to read.

  • Message Formatting:
    If the line-lengths in your messages are too wide, they become unreadable in many mail-readers. Try setting your window to less than 80 characters (72 is a common number), and set the font to a fixed-width font like Courier. This will insure that your messages can be read on the broadest number of different system types.

    Also, newer email software has many special features that really only work on intranets within offices where everyone is using the same software. All that fancy formatting can cause bad things to happen when used on the Internet. Please shut off any RTF (Rich Text Format) or HTML options (and any other formatting, for that matter) and turn on MIME options. Plain text is what works best on the Internet. That means no special fonts, colors, forms, etc.

  • Attachments (Attached Files):
    Please, do not send attachments to the list. It's considered bad form, and even if the attachment is small, some computers have trouble dealing with them. Attached files can cause some email software to crash, so this list (like most others) does not allow attachments to messages. If you want to refer to a file to your message, simply say, "if you want this file, e-mail me personally."

    Be sure to set your software so messages will not arrive as attached files. If you're not sure about that, send Nancy a test message at and she'll let you know how it looks on the receiving end. Any "business cards" or v-files should also be shut off.

  • Signatures:
    Signature files are kewl! But they should generally be less than 4,000,000 lines long. Under 6 is even better. This stuff uses bandwidth all over the net, not just on the list's server. Being reasonable about signatures and copying portions of the previous message helps keep mailing lists free to subscribers.

  • Flame Off:
    A flame is when you call someone names instead of making the effort to be nice. Flames are not only considered uncouth, they can be reason for being unsubscribed from the list. This is not a freedom of speech issue. It's about respect. No flames doesn't mean you can't express any opinion you want. It just means you have to be mature about it and allow others their opinions, too. If we all keep in mind that Reiki is about healing energy and our posts come from that intention, this should never be a problem.

  • Subject Headings:
    The Subject: line in the header of the message is there so that people can know what your message is about before they drop everything and read it! Try to make your subjects descriptive, and brief. And remember that when you are replying to a message, the subject won't change unless you tell it to.

  • Advertising and Promotion:
    Advertisements are a No-No. Event promotions are a No-No. Doesn't matter if the event or service is free. Even if you are offering services in response to a post, it is an ad. Please respond to requests for services via private email. This includes classes as well. One or two web site addresses in a signature are okay, though.

    There are several subscriber web sites that will announce events for you:
         http://ww.onedegreebeyond.com/
         http://www.angelfire.com/az/SpiritMatters/

    If you have any doubts about whether a message would be considered promotional or not, please email Nancy privately at and she'll let you know. This guideline is strictly enforced! Unsolicited advertising via email is called spam and can cause such harmful consequences that it is now illegal in the State of Washington (where this list originates), and other areas, too. For more information, see:
         http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html

Where's the Complaints Department?

Nancy is really a very friendly person -- she likes children and is kind to kittens. She becomes less nice, though, if you expect too much from her. Please read this FAQ before you ask questions.

If you still don't find out what you need, send a polite message to Nancy at turtle@camano.net and she'll do everything she can to help you as quickly as possible.

Congratulations! You made it through this FAQ! You have made the list administrator very happy, your fellow listees will appreciate your efforts, and those of you who pay attention to karma have just generated a lot of Good.

Many blessings to you, and may you find much enjoyment and satisfaction from your participation on the Reiki list.


If you have suggestions for a future version of this FAQ, please send them to:
     
They will be considered for the next revision.

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