Welcome to the shiny new hamsters mailing list!

"Why do we need a new list?", I hear you ask (I've got good hearing).  Well, the old list, run by Brian Henderson, stopped a while ago because of a problem with the list server.  For a while Brian forwarded the mail by hand, but that also ground to a halt.  After a few weeks' hiatus, the list was resuscitated by Corinna Cooke who cobbled together a hand-made version. Shortly afterwards I got this new automated version going.  It is thanks to Corinna that we now have a new list.

Purpose of the List:

Well, what else?!  We're here to talk about our favourite kind of small and furry critters, the most perfect cute little squidgies: hamsters.  Any sort of hamster is on topic: Russians, Chinese, Syrians, long-haired, short-haired, hairless*: anything.  The point is to swap stories about their antics, ask for and offer advice on care, feeding, breeding, showing and chat about anything else even distantly related to hamsters.

* - you didn't think there was any such thing, did you?  Well, take a look here!

"Do"s and "Don't"s

There aren't any, really.  The only two things to bear in mind are:

1) This is a family list.  The youngest member is nine.

2) If you have any attachments you'd like to share with the rest of us, please don't send them to the list.  If you have pictures or other attachments you'd like to share, please ask on the list if people would like them and then mail those people individually.  The default maximum message size for Majordomo is 40KB and anything above that will be rejected.  I could raise the limit but it's not a good idea.  Some providers don't allow incoming attachments or have low maximum mailbox sizes and I don't want anyone's mailbox to get blocked up.

How do I subscribe?

Presumably you've already subscribed, otherwise you wouldn't have received this message, but if you're passing this on to someone else, here's what you need to do: send an e-mail to majordomo@lists.i-way.net.uk with the phrase

subscribe hammies-r-us

in the body of the message.

If you find that you've had no hamster mail for a day or so, it's possible that you've been unsubscribed because your mailbox has bounced a bunch of messages.  If you think you've been unsubscribed, just subscribe again.  If you're already a member that will be confirmed.

How do I unsubscribe?

Surely you wouldn't ever want to unsubscribe!  But if for some reason you ever need to leave us, send e-mail to majordomo@lists.i-way.net.uk with the phrase

unsubscribe hammies-r-us

in the body of the message.

How do I send mail to the list?

The most important part!  The list address is hammies-r-us@lists.i-way.co.uk

Is there a digest version?

Yes, it's possible to get your hammie-mail in digest form if you want it. E-mail me at simon@dylan.org and I'll sort it out for you.

Is there a web site?

There sure is!  Point your browser at http://www.dylan.org There you'll find pictures of my hamsters, other list members' hamsters and a few pertinent links.  There's also a page about the list.  If you have any pictures of your hamsters you'd like included, please let me know.  You can e-mail me at simon@dylan.org and you'll find mailto links aplenty on the site.

Please bear in mind that I'm a bit slow when it comes to adding new pages, so please be patient!

If you've got any other questions or need any help, mail me at simon@dylan.org or ask on the list.  You're guaranteed a quick and helpful answer.

Simon

* Simon Chapman          simon@dylan.org
* The Dylan Hamster Site
* http://www.dylan.org
* Hamsters Mailing List Administrator
* hammies-r-us@lists.i-way.co.uk