Oregon Mensa Online

Member-To-Member Services

Forms-L. Forum, Oregon Mensa List - the original, enormously popular, lively discussion E-List.
Forms-PG. Powwow Gently - Our not so lively discussion E-List.
Forms-2030. For members in their 20's and 30's
Forms-rg. An E-List for BeaveRG Regional Gathering Attendees.

American Mensa Hosted Services

or.a. Oregon Mensa's Announcements Only E-List.
or.g. The Regional Gathering Committee E-List.

Administrivia:

    E-Lists for member to member conversation are offered as a free Member-to-Member service, by our stalwart Listmeister: Rob Knauerhase.
    We sometimes take his good works for granted, in no small part because he does it so well, that nobody ever has to think about it. We all thank you Rob.
    E-Lists for official chapter business, including general membership announcements, are hosted on the American Mensa Server.
    The difference between the two is that the lists on AML servers are pretty much a right of membership, where the member-to-member services are not.

American Mensa Hosted Services
Hosted On American Mensa's Servers.

or.a We encourage all members to subscribe to our Annoucements Only E-List. From time to time, you'll see special announcements of events that were cooked up after our paper newsletter deadline. You'll also get a (mostly) weekly reminder of our local events calendar.

or.g The Oregon Mensa BeaveRG Committee's E-List Our com channel for the RG team. Check it out: If you think you might like to get involved with the RG team, but aren't sure, subscribe to this list and watch it for a while.

Member-To-Member Services
Administered by Rob Knauerhase

Forms-L (Forum, Oregon Mensa List) is our original and enormously popular Mensa discussion E-Mail list. On Forms-L we share ideas, jokes and opinions. We discuss science, technology, current events, movies, food, humor, and all of the things in which Mensans are known to take interest. Yes, even religion, politics, and sex.
If you qualify for membership, you don't need to be told that some topics make some folks excitable. You also know that the ideas expressed in messages on Forms-L are solely those of the individual Mensans, not all Mensans or Mensa as an organization. The bylaws of American Mensa stipulate that Mensa will hold no opinions. This is probably because our members have a great many opinions, and they don't always agree with one another.
Lively Discussions take place on Forms-L It should come as no surprise that bright people get passionate about the ideas in which they believe. There will be contributors to Forms-L with whom you may often agree, and others with whom you may rarely agree. Most will be in the middle, much like the rest of real life. Your ideas and opinions are certainly most welcome. However, you should be sure that what you say here has been well thought out, because you can expect your ideas to be examined and challenged there, even by people who usually agree with your point of view.
Newcomers to Forms-L are often surprised to see that their underlying presumptions about what is right and real can shift with exposure to the thoughts of other bright minds.
It is important to remember that it's the idea that is being challenged (and not infrequently dismissed), not the person. You may see postings that at first glance look like confrontation, but look closer. The rules of net-etiquette (netiquette) say that attacking facts and ideas is fine, but attacking people is off limits. A good rule of thumb when reading Forms-L is to remember that the people debating ideas there are not angry with each other. Mostly.

Forms-PG is Oregon Mensa's less volatile "Powwow Gently" list. Think PG rated movie.

The Forms-PG guidelines do not ask that you avoid confrontation; they ask you to avoid put downs, name calling, and abusive or rude language.

Forms-PG is a monitored list. The monitors will privately intercede when two or more list members complain about a post. Intercession can take time, we ask you to patiently delete offending posts to give the monitors time to work things out quietly.

Articles: It's OK to submit interesting articles published elsewhere on the net, or pointers to same, but please point out what you found interesting or compelling at the top of the article.

Humor is risky, even if what you post is not risque. If you do choose to post humor, kindly remove all the traces that it's been forwarded eleventy-zillion times, and check the grammar.

Politics & Politicians, Crime & Punishment and so on, get some folks all riled up. If you are able to discuss these issues sans name calling and without using abusive language, feel free to do so.

Forms-2030 Mensa-Class people are less sensetive to age issues than most people, but sometimes it's good to hang with folks of your own generation. Once upon a time, we said that if you've already had your 40th birthday, you may not subscribe to this list. That thinking has been revised to be "generational" rather than age limits. This is an E-List for adult M's who qualify as Gen-X or Gen-Y to communicate with their generation - peers, and to coordinate events they may find interesting.

Forms-rg If you're registered for the next BeaveRG, or just thinking about it, sign up for this list. Here is where the RG committee will make announcements, and seek input. You can ask if anybody wants to share an offsite meal or join you in a tour of a local Museums. Carpooling, roommate hook-ups etc. are also on topic here.

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