If you've properly signed up for Corgi-L, and particularly if you have gotten Corgi-L in the past, the single biggest reason for it not showing up is spam. Or rather, the measures used to stop spam.

Many ISPs are using very aggressive tactics to try to reduce the amount of spam that makes it through and into your inbox, and sometimes that means that email you actually want doesn't make it through either. Corgi-L sometimes falls into that category.

Good ISPs will let you control things, or will respond to your complaints of missing email. Bad ones, of course, will not.

There are a few things you can do, in general:

• Add the Corgi-L email addresses to your spam filter's "whitelist", "safe list", "safe senders", "trusted senders" or equivalent list. Exactly how you do this will vary on which email service and email program you use. It's typically in the privacy, security or junk email settings.

• Add the Corgi-L email addresses to your address book or contact list. Many email programs and services use this as an indication that these addresses are valid sources of legitimate email. (There is at least one report from an earthlink customer where this process helped: remove Corgi-L from your address book(s), lower your spam protection from "high" to "medium", add Corgi-L back to your address book, and then reset your spam protection to "high". Perhaps other services will benefit from similar scenarios if they apply.)

• Never, ever, use the "Report as Spam" or "Junk Email" button on email from Corgi-L. Doing so tells the email provider that you didn't request the email, whereas since you signed up for it, you did. If you want to stop getting Corgi-L, please simply "sign off" or unsubscribe.

The Corgi-L email addresses that you should whitelist or add to your contacts/address book are:

Corgi-L<at>listserv.tamu.edu

LISTSERV<at>listserv.tamu.edu

owner-corgi-l<at>LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (shouldn't be necessary, but won't hurt.)

Remember to replace "<at>" with "@".

Important: if you are a Hotmail or AOL subscriber, please read these updates about the particularly difficult time we've had with each of them:

• AOL Subscribers Click Here

• Hotmail Subscribers Click Here

Corgi-L is a moderated list. At any time there may be anywhere from as few as 2 or 3 moderators on duty to as many as 6 or 7. Each incoming post is randomly assigned by the listserv to one of the moderators on duty, who then reads and approves (or responds) to the message. You can see exactly which moderator recieved your post for approval in the acknowledgement message you recieve after making your post. (If you do not get such an acknowledgement, then we may not have recieved your post - make sure you're sending it to the right place.)

Now, while some of the moderators may seem to sit at our computers all day just waiting for posts to approve, the reality is that we all also have lives. If we're going to be busy for an hour or two, we'll stay in moderation and deal with any pending approvals when we return. If we're going to be out for a more significant length of time, we'll take ourselves out of moderation so that other moderators can deal with incoming requests.

So delays of up to a few hours are quite normal and expected.

If your post touches on a potentially controversial or sensitive area, it's occasionally the case that the moderators will discuss it among themselves prior to taking action. That can also add a delay.

On top of everything mentioned so far, there's an anti-spam technique that was recently implemented by the listserv host, TAMU. The first time you use a new email address to post to the list (or, potentially, send anything through the listserv) you may experience a one-time delay of somewhere between minutes and hours. This is normal, and expected. The length of the delay is a function of your email service, not the listserv. This is a side effect of a (fairly effective) spam prevention technique known as greylisting.

If you are on Digest, you will see your own postings in the Digest. If you receive individual posts, you will not receive a copy of your own postings unless you set your subscription to REPRO. Instructions can be found here. You'll then get copies of your own postings until you set your subscription to NOREPRO.

To get acknowledgment from the LISTSERV computer when you post to Corgi-L, set your subscription to "ACK" as detailed here. You'll then get a brief e-mail acknowledgment when you send a message to the list. To stop getting the acknowledgments, set NOACK.

Corgi-L has a team of administrators who work behind the scenes to keep the list flowing smoothly. Sometimes an individual account gives the computer that publishes Corgi-L lots of errors. In those cases, the administrators step in and either set the account to NOMAIL or delete it. It's not personal, and if that happens, you're welcome to come back as soon as the problem is resolved.

We will gladly work with you to help you figure out and fix the problem.   Errors are caused by lots of different things, including problems with your ISP, full mailbox, etc.

In order to keep spamming and flame wars to a minimum, Corgi-L is a fully moderated list. Your post will be read and approved by a moderator before it is posted. In general, all posts are approved as long as they are on topic (Corgis) and do not contain flames, personal insults, religious proselytizing, disparaging remarks about any group or individual, etc.

One benefit of moderation is that we can also catch posts containing technical errors such as mime or html or listserv commands, or an entire Digest accidentally copied into the message! A list administrator will return your post with a note telling you how you can correct the problem.

Please note, the moderators DO NOT (and CANNOT) edit or change your postings in any way. If there's a problem, we will forward the posting back to you and ask you to change it.

No. We know you mean well, and we appreciate your concern. But most of the virus warnings that circulate around the Internet are hoaxes.

If you think you have found a legitimate virus warning, please forward it to the Corgi-L admin team. We'll try to find out whether it is real, and if it is, we'll forward it to the list.

Probably not. Most of the time, the stories in these much-forwarded emails turn out to be Urban Legends-- "friend-of-a-friend" stories that never really happened to anyone. Take the Neiman Marcus cookie story, for example. Neiman Marcus doesn't even sell cookies, and its restaurants give away recipes free for the asking. The stories about dying children who have asked people to send them business cards/greeting cards, etc. are almost all urban legends, as are the ones about any large company paying for names or clicks or forwards etc. For more "information on all the latest misinformation on the Net" visit http://urbanlegends.miningco.com or http://www.urbanlegends.com.

One other thing about most of these forwarded emails is that they have No Corgi Content. But what about warnings about dog abuse, dog adoption scams, dog theft rings in various areas of the country, dog product warnings, and so on? First, when you get one of these, check the date of origin. Some of these are several years old and have just been being forwarded around the net again and again. Second, if there is a web site mentioned, check it out. Third, if it purports to be a major news story about dog abuse or theft, do a web search for the local paper for the dates mentioned. Check out the Urban Legend sites mentioned above, too -- the Febreeze hoax was covered there! And finally, we are very careful about copyright on Corgi-L. If you think the story is current and true, you must tell the story in your own words or give a brief description followed by a link to a source for the article. Also, if an abuse story is too graphic, put a warning in the title or simply give a URL to an article rather than making everyone read the horrendous details.

First of all, congratulations! It's fine to post birth announcements to Corgi-L, as long as you don't mind being flooded with congratulatory messages. And if you can't resist sharing an occasional puppy story, that's okay too. If anyone is interesting in acquiring a pup, they will most likely contact you by private e-mail.

Please do not post anything to the list about availability of a puppy or adult dog which could be considered advertising. Advertising dogs, stud service, or puppies for sale is not allowed on the list. If people post to the list that they are looking for a Corgi puppy, you may answer them privately -- but don't forget to check references and ask questions just as you would if you heard of these people any other way. The internet is a big place, and we cannot guarantee that every subscriber is a good potential owner for your puppy!

Rescue opportunities, on the other hand, are not considered advertising (because the poster does not stand to gain financially, and because the dog may be in a potentially life or death situation). These postings are very welcome. We do ask that you differentiate between breeder placements of adult dogs and genuine rescues. A breeder placing a retiree is still advertising.

We will soon have paid advertising on the web site in the Corgi-L Puppy Finder. Your litter must meet our guidelines to be included, and all proceeds benefit Corgi-Aid.

The Corgi Finder, currently under construction, will offer screened listings of litters and dogs for sale. It will also contain rescue listings and listings for dogs in need of new homes. By screening listings and requiring breeders to submit proof of health clearances, to use a sales contract/guarantee which meets our guidelines, and to conform to the Code of Ethics applicable to their breed (Cardigan or Pembroke) we hope to set the gold standard for Corgi breeder referral. Individuals rehoming dogs must provide proof of spay or neuter, list all known health and behavior problems, screen prospective homes, and provide by written contract for the dog's return or placement in rescue if the new home does not work out.

There will be a small charge for ads, with all proceeds going to CorgiAid. Listings of bona fide rescue dogs are free.