I'm also curious about this.  I'm fairly new to the list (2 months), but it seems that a lot of people here assume everyone knows the rules, when it's clear that not everyone does.

For example, I just figured out the whole "Friday is any-topic-goes day" rule a few weeks ago.

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Mike S
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 2:29 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: moderating etc

At 04:56 PM 6/2/2010, Alistair Bell wrote...
>I find it curious that people get upset by the rules of this mailing 
>list. The list was set up by an individual (Gerry S.) years ago, with 
>rules, and has continued that way.

Rules, what rules? Please point to them.

There _is_ advice on etiquette, found at http://gerry.vanagon.com/info/etiquette.html

Nothing there about acronyms which might, or might not, refer to words which might, or might not, be considered to be obscene/profane/vulgar/swearing/offensive. Not even anything about non-Friday off-topic posts:

>The vanagon mailing list has been around for a while and its citizens 
>are fairly net.savvy. Bear that in mind before you forward something 
>from an archive. In particular, please avoid the following:
>
>Messages containing cookie recipes.
>
>Craig Shergold or any kid dying of cancer who wants to live forever in 
>e-mail
>
>Forwarded messages with LOTS OF CAPITALS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!
>
>Any virus warning which says you can get a virus just by reading an 
>e-mail message, especially if the virus-carrying message always has the 
>same subject.
>
>Any virus warning already listed as a hoax at any of the following
>sites:
>
>     Symantec Anti-Virus Research Center
>     CIEC Internet Hoaxes
>     Computer Virus Myths
>
>The Internet AIDS Infection Experiment or any Internet Experiment
>
>Why Computers Are Like Men/Women
>
>Petitions
>
>Good-luck charms
>
>Any Chain Letter, especially if it's already listed at:
>
>     CIEC Internet Chain Letters
>
>
>Dire warnings or actions alerts like Save Sesame Street!, Kidney 
>Thieves, Airport laptop thieves, 806 pager scams, FCC Internet Tax, 
>Lexis-Nexis P-Trax database, rec.music.white-power, etc. Basically, 
>anything telling the whole world to send e-mail somewhere or take some 
>action, but doesn't tell you what day (and year) to stop. Stop 
>forwarding hysteria!
>
>Content-free ping tests
>
>Messages with more forwards than actual text
>
>Posting private email to the whole list without permission
>
>A reply to a previous vanagon list posting, quoting all six hundred 
>lines, when all you wanted to do was respond to the last three
>
>Please note that most if not all of these things are considered bad 
>netiquette on the Internet, and that doing them risks drawing the ire 
>and sarcasm of Coyote.