MinGW.org’s preferred method for communication, +between users and the project team, is by way of mailing‑lists. +Historically, there were several topic‑specific lists, originally +hosted on SourceForge.net; +today, only two remain operational, and both are +hosted on OSDN.net. +

Operational Mailing‑Lists

Historical Mailing‑List Archives

In earlier days of the project history, +the volume of mailing‑list traffic was significantly greater +than it is today. +This traffic was distributed over five topic‑specific +mailing‑lists, of which only the two identified above +remain operational today; +the other three historical lists, which are identified below, +are now closed, and it is no longer possible to subscribe, +or to post messages to them. +However, archives of historical postings remain +available on SourceForge.net, +and may be searched using their respective keyword‑search boxes, +below. +

Mailing‑List Posting Etiquette

MinGW is an open source project. +As such, it is heavily dependent on people who dedicate +their spare time to the goals and continuing development of the project, +so please keep this in mind when posting to the mailing‑list. +

Before you post, you are advised to +acquaint yourself with the following commonly accepted guidelines, +with which you are strongly encouraged to comply, +when composing your posts. +Failure to comply with these guidelines may result +in your posts being ignored by a number of knowledgeable people, +and repeated offenses may even lead to your posts being vetted, +and potentially rejected, by the list moderator. +

The language of the lists is English ; +if you post in any other language, you are unlikely to elicit a response. +
Do search the mailing list archives, +(both the current archives, and those of the historical topic‑specific +lists), before posting, (see the links associated with each of the lists above); +many questions have already been asked and answered. +
Do use +a meaningful subject line. +A subject line should include a pertinent few words summarizing +the subject of the email; +(when one replies to emails, +one should always make certain the subject line of the email is still +relevant to the reply). +In particular, if you receive list mail in digest format, +do always +set the subject back to the original text, +from the message to which you are replying. +Do not reply with a subject of +“Re: MinGW-??? Digest no. ???”; +such replies are prime candidates for deletion, without being read. +
Do post in a MIME format with +“Content-Type: text/plain”. +Do not post as HTML, or in any other MIME format, +(and in particular, do not use multi-part MIME, +with plain text duplicated as HTML); +some list subscribers are unable to, or choose not to read such mail, +and will be unable or unwilling to answer you. +
Do not +post messages with very long lines of text; +except when pasting screenshots, where line wrapping might lead to confusion, +ensure that lines of running text are wrapped with hard line breaks, +at a length of between 65 and 72 characters. +
Do quote sections of the original text, +and interleave your replies to individual points, +below the relevant context. +Do not +top-post; +(this +treatise +explains why top-posting is considered unacceptable). +
Do trim out sections of the original mail, +which are not required to establish the context of your reply. +(Once more, +this is particularly important when replying to mail received in digest form; +do reply +to one subject at a time, +and do remove all content related to other subjects). +Do not persistently recycle irrelevant junk, +quoted from earlier messages in the thread. +
Do not +include “legal mumble” signatures. +You are posting to a list that will be read by thousands of users, +and anything you say will be archived in the public domain; +in this context, such drivel in your signature is neither enforceable, +nor meaningful. +
Do not hijack an existing topic thread, +when you wish to introduce an unrelated subject; +(i.e. do not reply to an existing message, +when your reply is unrelated to the original subject). +When you want to introduce a new topic, plainly start a new thread, +(i.e. a completely new message). +Replying in an existing thread confuses mail readers +and humans who are trying to participate in the original discussion; +it is a sure way to irritate other subscribers, +and will likely get you ignored, +if not even black-listed. +

Historical information on netiquette may be found in +RFC-1855. +

This +article, +(also available +here), +offers valuable advice on how to ask questions, +in a manner most likely to elicit useful replies. +