Editorial Freelancers Association
Discussion List
EFA Discussion List
The EFA’s Discussion List is an open forum where members share their knowledge and questions about editorial freelancing and the freelance lifestyle. It is an invaluable source of lively, frank, informative, and respectful discussion.
To remain a member of the Discussion List, you must remain an active member of the EFA and the email address used on the Discussion List must match the primary email in your EFA profile. Moderators review the membership status of list participants regularly. If you are no longer a member of the EFA, or if the email address used on the list does not match the primary email address in your EFA profile, you will be dropped from the list.
Managing Your Subscription:
In My Account > Profile Editor, check “Yes” next to “Subscribe to the EFA Discussion List” to indicate that you’d like to join.
Look for an email from Groups.io within three business days. The invitation email will allow you to join either by replying via email or by clicking a link within the body of the email. If you accept the invitation by replying via email, your preferences will be automatically set to receive each individual message, while accepting via the link allows you to set your email preferences differently. If your invitation does not arrive, check your spam or junk folder and consider whitelisting the EFA’s Groups.io email address: EFADiscussionList@EFAGroups.groups.io. If you still don’t find your invitation, email efa.christina.shideler@the-efa.org.
Send an email to EFADiscussionList@EFAGroups.groups.io or post messages from the Discussion List home page on Groups.io at https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList. All new messages must include a hashtag in the subject line or they will bounce. See the hashtags section below for more information.
If you previously created an account with Groups.io, log in at https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList with this information. This login information is not the same as your EFA username and password. In the left sidebar, click on “Subscription” and select the email delivery option of your choice. We do not recommend selecting “Special Notices Only.” Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.
If you have not set a password for Groups.io, you can access your settings and view the archives by going to https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList and clicking on “Email me a link to log in” and entering the email address associated with your Discussion List subscription. You can use this link to log in for 24 hours and need not create a password. Once you click the link and log in, click on “Your Groups” in the upper left then click on “Editorial Freelancers Association Discussion List.” Finally, click on “Subscription” and select the email delivery option of your choice. We do not recommend selecting “Special Notices Only.” Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.
You can temporarily suspend yourself from the list (while you’re on vacation, for example) by changing your email delivery options to “No Email” using the methods outlined above. To return to the list, change your option back to “Individual Messages” or “Daily Summary” using the same method.
If you have a Groups.io account, go to https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList and log in. Click on your name in the upper right then click on “Account” in the drop-down menu. Enter your new email address here and click on “Change Email.” Groups.io will send an email asking you to confirm your new email address.
If you have not set a password for Groups.io, go to https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList, click on “Email me a link to log in,” and enter the email address currently associated with your Discussion List subscription. Click on the login link that is emailed to you, enter your new email address on the account page, and click on “Change Email.” Groups.io will send an email asking you to confirm your new email address.
If you no longer have access to the old email address, email efa.christina.shideler@the-efa.org with your old email address and new email address to request that the change be made on your behalf.
The email address used with the Discussion List must be the primary email address listed in your EFA account. If you change your primary EFA email address, you must change the email address used on the Discussion List as well. If your email addresses do not match, you may be removed from the group.
In My Account > Profile Editor, check “No” next to “Subscribe to the EFA Discussion List.” Your email address will be removed from the EFA Groups.io Discussion List within three business days.
Send a message directly to the list managers at discussionlist@the-efa.org.
Hashtags:
The hashtag system makes it easier for subscribers to manage their mail and skip messages that are not of interest. If the subject of your message is new, please enter a brief, informative title preceded by the appropriate hashtag. Messages that do not contain one of the below hashtags will bounce.
#BIZ: All aspects of business except marketing.
#MKTG: Soliciting work from clients.
#TOOLS: Tools of the trade: office equipment, software and hardware, reference works, and the like.
#USAGE: Usage, style, and grammar.
#CHAT: For discussions not directly related to editing, writing, or doing business in publishing. #CHAT can be and often is on any topic, but please try to keep the messages related to freelancing, however distantly.
#SCAMALERT: Reporting and discussing possible scam emails received.
In addition, for urgent queries, any of the above tags can be used in combination with:
#URGENT
If your post doesn’t fit a particular hashtag, or if you’re uncertain about which hashtag to use, please use your best judgment and don’t worry about it. The hashtag system is a courtesy to your fellow freelancers, not iron-clad law.
Accessing the Archives:
To search the archives of the EFA Discussion List, access the List’s Groups.io page from a web browser. Navigate to the main Discussion List site at https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList and either log in to an existing Groups.io account, if you have one, or request a log-in link via email.
Once signed in, you will be redirected to the EFA Discussion List home page. You may now search the archives simply by clicking on Messages, then the “Search ” button at the top of the page; entering your key words in the pop-up box; and clicking “Search” again. Conversations containing your search term(s) will appear below.
If you log in via an emailed link, you will be taken to your Account page rather than the Discussion List home page. To get to the DL home page, click on “Your Groups” in the upper left and click on “Editorial Freelancers Association Discussion List.” Once there, follow the steps above to Search.
Guidelines and Troubleshooting:
Please be POLITE AND PROFESSIONAL: Personal attacks, abusive language, and flaming will not be tolerated. Don’t spam. Offenders will be banned immediately and permanently without appeal.
Participants in the Discussion List must read and adhere to the EFA’s Anti-Harassment Policy.
Please do not correct the grammar, spelling, or syntax of messages posted by your fellow freelancers on the list. This is a discussion forum and the focus should remain on the ideas expressed.
The Discussion List and its archives are open to members only, but bear in mind that messages can be forwarded to anyone. No internet message is truly private; be circumspect, especially when discussing clients.
When replying to a post, please quote only the relevant material and snip the headers and footers. If you are on digest, please be especially careful not to send an entire digest back to the list—please do not just hit your reply key.
For security reasons, attachments are not permitted on this list. If you post a message with an attachment, it will be stripped off.
As editors and writers we need to be particularly vigilant regarding copyright violations. Do not post copyrighted material beyond accepted fair use. If you wish to bring something of interest to the attention of members, quote only a short excerpt and indicate the URL where it can be found.
Advertising is not allowed, with the exception of brief one-time announcements directly relevant to a member—the publication of a member’s book or article, for instance. Reports by members who have no financial stake in them on products, services, books, websites, etc. are not considered advertising and are welcome. When in doubt, please contact the list managers before posting at discussionlist@the-efa.org.
Your messages are being posted to your professional colleagues—good manners are required. Personal attacks, abusive language, and flaming will not be tolerated. Those who persist in ill-mannered behavior after being warned off-list by the list managers will be temporarily placed on moderation. Messages from moderated individuals are reviewed by the list managers and may not appear if, in their judgment, they contain blatantly offensive or abusive language.
Write to discussionlist@the-efa.org.
Note: Internet service provider and email platform spam filter settings can interfere with proper mail delivery. If you have not been getting any list messages, this might be the reason. Only your ISP or email provider can fix this problem for you. Messages will bounce if your mailbox is full or has been inactive for too long. Again, check with your ISP or email provider or research settings you may be able to change to prevent emails from bouncing. We advise that everyone whitelist the email address EFADiscussionList@EFAGroups.groups.io. Each email provider does this differently, so contact them directly or research how to do so. In the meantime, you can always read the messages and post to the list from the EFA page on Groups.io at https://efagroups.groups.io/g/EFADiscussionList.