Welcome to RPlist
the retinal degeneration discussion list.
This is the official web site of RPlist, the Retinal Degeneration
Mailing List. It gives information about this mailing list only. For
information about retinal degenerations, refer to the
links page.
Table of contents (7 links).
RPlist is an electronic mailing list, i.e. a group of
people who use electronic mail (e-mail) on the Internet to exchange
ideas and information. Any e-mail message sent to the list's address is
automatically forwarded to all members (subscribers). Anyone with a
valid Internet e-mail address can join or leave the group at any
time. Participation is entirely free of charge.
RPlist is dedicated to discussions related to retinal
degenerations. It is open to people personally effected by these
conditions, their family and friends, people working in the eye care
or low vision fields, and more generally anyone who wants to learn
or share experience in relation with retinal conditions.
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Retinal Degenerations are genetic diseases (or "conditions") that
affect the retina, the light-sensitive membrane at the back of the
eye on which images are formed. Retinal degenerations are
characterized by a progressive deterioration of the retina which
causes a progressive loss of vision. Unlike refractive anomalies
such as myopia or astigmatism, retinal degenerations cannot be
corrected with lenses, and in most cases they cannot currently be
treated.
There are many forms of retinal degenerations which affect various
parts of the retina and progress at different rates, causing a wide
range of visual situations. The most common forms are Macular
Degeneration and Retinitis Pigmentosa (or RP, which
gave its name to RPlist); other forms include Usher syndrome,
Stargardt disease, choroideremia, retinoschisis, cone-rod dystrophy,
diabetic retinopathy, Leber amaurosis, retinoblastoma, and many
more. See our links page for more
information.
RPlist welcomes discussions of all aspects of low vision, even when
it is not caused by a retinal degeneration.
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There are two methods to join the RPlist mailing list: on the Web
or by e-mail. In both cases you will receive an e-mail message
asking you to confirm your subscription.
If you experience any difficulty, see more detailed instructions here.
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RPlist is a fairly large community where everyone is welcome to
express their ideas, concerns or information. In order to keep the
volume of mail manageable and maintain a high "signal-to-noise
ratio", a number of rules have been defined and refined over time.
These rules, known as posting
guidelines, should be kept in mind at all times while writing
messages to RPlist. They are listed below, and each link leads to a
more detailed explanation.
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Listserv® is a Mailing List Management
program. Its main function is to receive messages sent to a mailing
list (such as RPlist) and dispatch it to all subscribers. It can
also execute commands, such as
subscription and unsubscription requests, that are sent to it by
e-mail.
Most listserv commands can also be issued through
this web
page rather than by e-mail.
There are many other Mailing List Management programs on the
Internet, such as Majordomo, ListProc, SmartList, Lyris etc., which
all have different features and understand different commands.
Some people use "listserv" as a generic term for all Mailing
List Management programs. Others use it instead of "mailing list".
Both are incorrect. Listserv is the name of a specific product, and
a registered trademark licensed to
L-Soft international, Inc.
Here is a non exhaustive list of things you can do with listserv,
with links to more detailed explanations on how to proceed. A complete
listserv manual is available on
L-Soft's
site.
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- For more information about the RPlist mailing list, if you
don't find an answer on this site, send e-mail to
rplist-request@listserv.icors.org. Your message will be
forwarded to the people who manage the list. See the listserv help page
for more details.
- For information about life with low vision in general and
retinal degenerations in particular, join the
RPlist mailing list. This will put you in touch with hundreds of
people, all directly or indirectly affected by these conditions, and
willing to answer your questions and share their experience.
- There are dozens of Web sites that provide both medical and
non-medical information about all aspects of retinal degenerations.
See a selection on our links page.
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Since January 2006, RPlist is a member of
ICORS, a non-profit organization run
by volunteers. The server hardware and software were donated by L-Soft, makers of
LISTSERV.
From 1994 to 2006, RPlist was hosted by St.
John's University (SJU), a private university in the USA.
We are very grateful to Chris Dixon for offering
web space at dixonvision.com for this site.
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