for Caregivers only...

"In my caregiving experience, I had no one to talk to and when I did try to talk to someone, all I received was the normal platitudes and positive thinking quotes that are supposed to soothe.

But they did not soothe at all, and I finally realized that the only person who could really understand the daily life of a caregiver was another caregiver."

Elaine Rester
Caregivers Co-ordinator

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  Caregivers Email List

  • COPD-Support - the COPD-Caregivers List

    The COPD-Caregivers List is an electronic mailing list just for the dedicated folks who find themselves in the position of being caregivers for a loved one with COPD; where you can ask advice, share your experience, and support in general for the daily stress and problems associated with Caregiving.

    The COPD-Caregivers List may be joined in conjunction with the COPD list or completely separate. Any member of the list may "post" to it, and after the email is sent, it is redistributed automatically to all the list's subscribers.

    It is available in two formats, Regular or Digest.
    Regular is as-they-are-posted e-mail messages and Digest is a compiled e-mail message containing all the email messages of the day - to keep files sizes acceptable for all ISPs, Digest is sent out in sections, 2 or 3 per day depending on the volume and size of mail. If you are not computer-savvy, we recommend you get your emails individually (Membership type: regular) rather than Digest delivery, they are much easier to respond to.

    Please read the Policies section and the Posting Guidelines section.
    Subscribing means you are agreeing to follow all our policies and that you are a caregiver.

    click here to subscribe

  • our Policies

    All of our policies and programs were established to provide support, education, and a platform for the sharing of ideas and solutions.

    Management reserves the right to restrict posting privileges or terminate any subscription; for any reason, when in the opinion of management, such action is in the best interests of the organization.

    • While we want our programs and messaging to be as open and lively as possible, there are a few rules of netiquette that we apply and insist on:

    • Courtesy and Civility  This is often the biggest problem on mailing lists and other programs where individuals must exchange views. Remember that this is first, and foremost, a support and information resource. We are here to help each other - not call names or make snide remarks. So-called "flame" messages, or other acts of intolerance will not be permitted. If you are really upset about something that has been said, "sit on it" for a day or two. Then, if you still feel a need to "talk", reply privately - not to the full list or group. Try to never make an honest disagreement personal, and remember that there are controversial issues regarding emphysema and emphysema treatment. They are controversial because there is no absolute answer, and we must respect both sides of an issue, as well as those who believe in one side or the other.

    • Off-topic and Private Conversations  Off topic offerings are allowed but should be offered as flavoring - not the main course. Private, two or three sided conversations carried on by mailings to the list show poor judgment. Our programs foster many good friendships, which is one of its many benefits. But please keep private conversations between a few people private - send them directly to one another.

    • Commercial Posts  Are not permitted. Subscribers are certainly free to express opinions about commercial products, medicines and the like. However, strictly commercial messages are a no-no. A commercial message is defined as a recommendation or information of any sort that could result in self-gain by the individual making the recommendation or providing the information.

    • Copyrighted Material  It is illegal for anyone to post copyrighted material without the express consent of the owner of the material.

    • Controversial Subjects  Controversial or potentially offensive subjects are always difficult among a large group of people. Therefore subjects such as politics, religion, explicit sexual jokes, jokes with a religious theme are best avoided when communicating with each other.

    • Privacy  The audience for our programs that require subscription is intended to be for subscribers to that program alone. Thus posting content from this list to other sources violates this sense of trust and privacy. Likewise, posting private messages from an individual or from another list to any of our lists without the specific permission of the author also violates our privacy policy. The key thing to consider is whether or not anyone's privacy has been compromised without their specific permission.
  • Posting Guidelines

    Emails should be sent in Plain Text only - this is generally an option under the "Format Text" tab of your email program. Email with attachments, styled fonts and colors, HTML coding (web page coding), and similar are treated as possible spam/viruses and rejected by the Mail List server.

    Doing only the "Basic" is just fine for those new to the list.
    Our focus is COPD, not messaging expertise!

    Basic New Message:

    To send a new message to all the people currently subscribed to the list, just format your email as follows:

    To:   COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
    Subject:   Your topic in a nutshell
    Body   your question/message to the List


      Then press the Send icon.

    *see descriptions of To:, Subject: and Body at the bottom of this page



    Basic Reply to Regular delivery email:


    Click on the "Reply All" icon
    Type what you want to say in the Body of your new message


    delete these lines found at the very bottom of every List email,
    so there won't be multiple copies of the lines in your email


       and press send



    Replying to a post within Digest delivery email:


    Open the Digest email, use your cursor to highlight the message you are replying to and click on "Reply" icon.


    This will open a new email addressed
    To: COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM

    Depending on your email program, it will include a copy of what you highlighted. If, however, your new email contains the entire digest, you will need to delete everything above and below the message you are replying to, then add your response above it.

    Also change the Subject: line to match the message you are replying to rather than "COPD-CAREGIVERS Digest.......etc".


       and press send

    •   the Address line:


      The "Basic" above sends your reply to the original poster and to the whole list.

    • To send just to the original poster, click on "Reply" rather than "Reply all."

      To send just to the List, click on "Reply All" but then go to the address area of your reply message and delete the original poster's address.

      To reply to Digest messages, you must manually enter
      COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM, or an individual's address, in the address line in your reply message.

      When initiating a new message, manually enter
      COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM, or an individual's address, in your message's address line.

      Note:
      These last two "manual" entries are simple if you add
      COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
      to your email program's Address Book/Contacts.
    •   the Subject line:

    • Most people quickly scan the subject lines in their inbox before deciding which messages are worth their time and attention.
      Choose the wording for your Subject line thoughtfully.

    • New messages and replies to messages received inside the Digest List, require manual entry in the Subject area of your message.
    •   the Message Body is largest area of the email
      where you type in what you want to say or ask.

    • If you are replying, quoting some of the original message is a big help for others to understand what the message is about.

    • Experienced computer users quote judiciously. They include just enough of the original text in their replies so readers can quickly understand the new message. They avoid over-quoting: including so much of the original that readers lose interest in the reply.
  • for AOL Users

    If you are an AOL user, there is a problem if you rely on AOL to automatically add to your contacts list; and it is also possible your privacy settings may block our emails.

    AOL has automatically added managment@copd-support.com to your contacts list, but this is not the email address that will be sending emails from the COPD-Caregivers List to you.

    You cannot rely on the AOL automatic contact adds.
    You must add these two addresses manually to your Contacts List:

    COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM and
    listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com

    Also check your privacy settings to make sure our emails qualify.

    Here are some AOL links that may be of help to you:

    How do I add contacts in AOL Mail?
    How do I unblock an email address in AOL Mail?
    How do I reset my mailbox settings in AOL Mail?

    Once you have added
    COPD-CAREGIVERS@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM, and listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com to your contacts list, you should receive at least one e-mail daily (the Chat Schedule); if you do not, then you know your privacy settings are not correct.



  • Archives

    The COPD-Caregivers List is hosted on LSOFT, a large professional Mail List vendor. They maintain the searchable archives for the COPD List.

    LSOFT requires a LISTSERVE password which takes a little fiddle to set up the first time (you click to send them the password, they send an e-mail back to you in order to verify you really are at the e-mail address you gave them, and then you re-try requesting access). This process may take 15 minutes but then your LISTSERVE password makes it easy for subsequent access. Your password is whatever you want it to be as long as it fits into the field provided. It works best if you have cookies enabled on your computer. If you do not have cookies enabled, you will need to enter your password each time you access the archives.

    Also a tip for your first access of the Archive page - after entering your password, be sure to scroll down on the response screen; you might be on the Archive page and not realize it! Don't worry this can only happen the initial time you use your password, you won't have this problem ever again - we promise.

    This process is a security measure to make certain that only our subscribers are accessing the information. Thanks for your patience!

    click here to go to the COPD-Caregives Archives Home Page on LSOFT


    This is a partial image of the COPD_Caregivers Archives page.
    Notice where the archives listing actually begins, after the listing of the Latest Messages.


  • Subscription Changes

    Any change to your subscription may be accomplished by sending an email to Management@copd-support.com

    click here to send an email to List Managment requesting a change
    (Just write what you want done in the body of the email & press send)

    • However, there are some changes you can make yourself if you wish:
    • Temporarily stopping, and then restarting, mail delivery
    • Switching between Regular and Digest versions
    • Unsubscribing from the COPD-Caregivers List

      For all other changes such as changing your email address use the link above.